Edited by Philip John Olleson, MA - Nottingham eTheses - University ...

THE LETTERS OF SAMUEL WESLEY:
SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE,
1797-1837
Vol. 1
Edited by
Philip John Olleson, MA
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AIA
Thesis submitted to the University of Nottingham
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, January 2000

CONTENTS
Abstract
iii
Acknowledgements
v
Abbreviations and
Cue Titles
ix
Chronology
--
xxii
Biographical Introduction
xxix
Textual Introduction
lxxxix
The Letters 1
Appendix: undatable
letters 984

ABSTRACT
The life of the composer and organist Samuel Wesley (1766-1837)
encompassed momentous changes in British society. Born in the early years
of the reign of George III, Wesley died in the first months of the reign of
Victoria. He saw equally momentous changes in music. As a child he was
taught by musicians who remembered and in some cases had played for
Handel; in adult life, he witnessed the introduction of the music of Haydn,
Mozart, and Beethoven into England, and late in his career saw the visits to
London of Liszt, Weber, and Mendelssohn.
Wesley's life on both a personal and professional level was highly
unconventional. Born into the first family of Methodism -
his father was the
hymn-writer Charles Wesley (1708-88), his uncle was John Wesley (1703-91)
- he converted in his teens to Roman Catholicism and spent most of his life
alienated from his family and from his Methodist upbringing. His marriage to
Charlotte Louisa Martin in 1793 followed years of family opposition and a
period when the couple lived together unmarried. In 1810 he left her for his
teenage housekeeper, with whom he lived until his death. His professional
career was brilliant but uneven, bedevilled by periods of mental illness which
left him incapacitated for long periods.
Wesley was a prolific correspondent: over 600 letters out of a far
larger number of letters that he is known to have written are extant. The
letters fall into two fairly distinct categories: those to members of his family,
and those to correspondents outside the family. This division is paralleled to
iii

a large degree in the subject matter of the letters. In general, Wesley kept his
family and his professional and social life well apart. He only rarely discusses
family matters rarely in his social and professional letters; conversely,
although there are many mentions of his social and professional life in the
family correspondence, they do not form a very large proportion of it as a
whole. The two sequences of letters are thus largely self-contained.
The bulk of Wesley's discussions of music are contained in the social
and professional letters, and these form the largest and most important
collection of letters by an English musician of the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries. This edition brings together all such letters from 1797
until Wesley's death in 1837. It also includes a few family letters where the
subject matter is wholly or largely music: further details are given in the
Textual Introduction. It can therefore be seen as the first part of a complete
edition of Wesley's letters. The second part, containing the family letters,
will, I hope, follow in due course.
iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I gratefully acknowledge financial assistance from the University of
Nottingham, who provided funds for the initial purchase of microfilms and
photocopies under the Humanities Rolling Small Grants Scheme and have
given generous support subsequently, including a period of study leave in
1997-8.
A number of individuals have been particularly closely involved
with this volume. Robert Pascall first suggested that I might look at
Wesley's letters. Michael Kassler, with whom I am compiling the Samuel
Wesley Sourcebook, has shared with me his extensive knowledge of
Wesley's life and has made a large contribution to establishing the
chronology and dating of the letters. Fr Alvaro Ribeiro, SJ, editor of the
correspondence of Charles Burney, has answered numerous queries about
Burney, provided advice and wisdom on editorial procedures, and given
much support and encouragement. Ian Wells has provided information on
matters of Roman Catholic liturgy. Andrew Drummond has identified and
translated Wesley's quotations from Greek and Latin. Anne Allcock copied
the music examples. To all of these I am most grateful. I must also express
my particular thanks and gratitude to Cyril Ehrlich, who has been involved
in this project since its beginning and has been characteristically generous
in his advice, support, and encouragement.
I acknowledge with thanks permission granted by the following
libraries and private individuals to publish letters in their collections: the
V

Revd Frank Baker; Bath Public Libraries; Beinecke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library, Yale University; Boston Public Library; The British
Library, London; Michael Burney-Cumming; Cambridge University
Library; Cheshire Record Office; John R. G. Comyn; Raymond C.
Currier; Drew University, Madison, New Jersey; Duke University,
Durham, N. Carolina; Edinburgh University Library; Emory University,
Atlanta, Georgia; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Gloucester Public
Library; Hampshire Record Office; Houghton Library, Harvard University;
John Wesley's Chapel, Bristol; Library of Congress, Washington, DC;
Michael and Jamie Kassler; London University Library; Methodist
Archives and Research Centre, John Rylands University of Manchester;
London Metropolitan Archives; National Library of Scotland; The National
Trust; New York Public Library; Norfolk Record Office; Princeton
University; The Royal College of Music; The Royal Institution of Great
Britain; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; Southern Methodist University,
Dallas, Texas; University of California at Santa Barbara; The Upper
Room, Nashville, Tennessee.
Investigating Wesley's letters has involved me in correspondence
with, and visits to, a large number of libraries and record offices. In
addition to the institutions listed above, I would like to thank the following:
Birmingham Archives; Bodleian Library, Oxford; British Library
Newspaper Library; Bristol Public Library; The Brotherton Library,
University of Leeds; Dorset Record Office; Guildhall Library;
Hertfordshire Record Office; The Pendlebury Library, Cambridge; The
V1

Royal Society of Musicians; St Albans Public Library; Suffolk Record
Office; Watford Public Library; Wesley College, Bristol.
I am also grateful to the following, who have answered queries or
provided assistance in other ways: Mark Argent, Chris Banks, Christina
Bashford, The Revd Mark Beach, Heather Blackburn, Barra Boydell,
Donald Burrows, David Byers, Rachel Cowgill, Donald Cullington, Oliver
Davies, Nigel Day, Fr Ian Dickie, Sally Drage, Pippa Drummond,
Michelle Elverson, Kathy Flewitt, Peter Forsaith, Maggie Gibb, Jane
Girdham, Leo Gooch, Bette Gray-Fow, Sam Hammond, Jane Hatcher,
John Henderson, Peter Holman, Peter Horton, Bronwen Jenkins, H. Diack
Johnstone, Jamie Kassler, Christopher Kent, ST Kimbrough, Jr., Leanne
Langley, Gareth Lloyd, Simon McGuire, Simon McVeigh, The Ven. John
Marsh, Sander Meredeen, Anne Micallef, John Morehen, Johyn Morgan,
Kenneth Newport, Peter Nockles, John Ogasapian, Michael Ogden,
Edward Olleson, Stanley Pelkey, Lynda Prescott, Peter Preston, Rebecca
Preston, Kenneth E. Rowe, Brian Robins, Graca Almeida Rodrigues, Alan
E. Rose, Stephen Roe, Francis Routh, Gillian Ward Russell, Wendy
Sharpe, Hilary Silvester, the Revd William Simpson, Christopher Smith,
Meg Smith, Alan Sommerstein, Nicholas Temperley, Richard Turbet, John
Vickers, Arthur Wainwright, John Wardroper, Paul Weaver, William
Weber, John Whittle, Rosemary Williamson, Peter Wright, Carlton Young,
Bennett Zon.
My greatest thanks, however, are due to my wife Hilary, who over
a period of almost ten years has shared with great good humour and
vii

tolerance the ups and downs of a project which at times has seemed never-
ending.
vii'

ABBREVIATIONS AND CUE TITLES
Manuscript collections
Argory
The Argory, near Moy, Co. Armagh.
Austin
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Centre,
The University of Texas at Austin.
BL
British Library, London.
Drew
Methodist Collection, Drew University
Library, Madison, New Jersey.
Duke
Special Collections Library, Duke University,
Durham, North Carolina.
Emory
John Wesley Collection, Special Collections
Department, Robert W. Woodruff Library,
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Fitzwilliam
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Foundling Hospital
Foundling Hospital Archives, London
Metropolitan Archives.
Gloucester
Gloucester Public Library.
Harvard
Shaw Theatre Collection, Houghton Library,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Kassler
Private collection of Jamie and Michael
Kassler, Northbridge, NSW, Australia.
LC
Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
lx

London
Senate House Library, University of London.
NRO
Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, Norfolk.
NYPL (Berg)
The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection,
New York Public Library.
NYPL (Music)
Music Division, New York Public Library
RCM
Royal College of Music, London.
RSCM
Royal School of Church Music, London.
Rylands
Methodist Archives and Research Centre, John
Rylands University Library of Manchester.
SMU
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.
UCSB
University of California at Santa Barbara,
California.
Other manuscript sources
Loan 48 Royal Philharmonic Papers, BL Loan 48.
MADSOC
BL, Madrigal Society papers.
Reminiscences
Wesley's manuscript Reminiscences (1836)
(BL, Add. MS 27593).
RSM
Royal Society of Musicians Records.
X

Frequently cited works
The place of publication is London unless otherwise indicated.
Altick
Richard Altick, The Cowden Clarkes,
1948.
Anstruther
Godfrey Anstruther, O. P., The
Seminary Priests: -A
Dictionary of the
Secular Clergy of England and Wales.
1558-1830,4 vols., Great Wakering,
1969-77.
Argent
Recollections of R. J. S. Stevens: An
Organist in Georgian London, ed.
Mark Argent, 1992.
Bach Letters
Samuel Wesley, Letters of Samuel
Wesley to Mr Jacobs. Organist of
Surrey Chapel. Relating to the
Introduction into this Country of the
Works of John Sebastian Bach, ed.
Eliza Wesley, 1875. Facsimile edition
with Introduction by Peter Williams as
The Wesley Bach Letters, 1988.
BCP Book of Common Prayer (1662).
BD
A Biographical Dictionary of Actors,
xi

Actresses. Musicians. Dancers.
Managers & Other Stage Personnel in
London. 1660-1800, ed.
Philip H.
Highfill, Jr., Kalman A. Burnim, and
Edward A. Langhans, Carbondale and
Edwardsville, I11., 16 vols, 1973-93.
Boeringer
James Boeringer, Organica Britannica:.
Organs in Great Britain 1660-1860,3
vols., London and Toronto, 1989.
Brown and Stratton
James D. Brown and Stephen S.
Stratton, British Musical Biogrraphy,
1897, repr.
New York, 1971.
Burney, History
Charles Burney, A General History of
Music, from the Earliest Ages to the
Present Period, 4 vols., 1776-89.
Burney, Letters I
The Letters of Dr Charles Burney. Vol
I: 1751-1784, ed. Alvaro Ribeiro, SJ,
Oxford, 1991.
Burrows
George Frideric Handel: The Complete
Hymns and Chorales, facscimile edition
with an introduction by Donald
Burrows, 1987.
Clarke, Life and Labours
Mary Cowden Clarke, Life and
Labours of Vincent Novello, 1864.
X11

Clarke, My Long Life
Mary Cowden Clarke, My Long Life:
an Autobiographic Sketch, 1896.
Court Guide
Boyle's New Fashionable Court and
County Guide and Town Visiting
Directory, published annually.
CPM
The Catalogue of Printed Music in the
British Museum until 1980,62 vols.,
1987.
Dawe
Donovan Dawe, Organists of -the
City
of London 1666-1850, Padstowe, 1983.
DEB
A Dictionary of Evangelical Biography,
ed. Donald M. Lewis, 2 vols., Oxford,
1995.
DNB
Dictionary of National Biograph .
Doane
John Doane, A Musical Directoly for
the Year 17
, 1794.
Edwards
F. G. E[dwards], 'Bach's Music in
England', MT, 37 (1896), 585-7,652-
7,722-6,797-800.
Ehrlich, Music Profession
Cyril Ehrlich, The Music Profession in
Britain since the Eighteenth Centujy: A
Social History, oxford, 1985.
Ehrlich, First Philharmonic
Cyril Ehrlich, First Philharmonic: A
Histoly of the Royal Philharmonic
Xlii

Society, Oxford, 1995.
Elkin
R. Elkin, Royal Philh. irmonic: The
Annals of the Royal Philharmonic
Society, [19461.
Emery, 'Jack Pudding'
Walter Emery, 'Jack Pudding', MT,
107 (1966), 301-6.
EM
The-European Magazine and London
Review, 1782-1826.
Encyclopaedia of London
An EncycloDaedia-of London, ed.
William Kent, 1937.
Farmer
D. H. Farmer, The Oxford Dictionary
of Saint ,
Oxford, 3rd edn., 1992.
Fenner
Theodore Fenner, Opera in London-,
Views of the Press. 1785-1830,
Carbondale and Edwardsville, Ill.,
1994.
Foster
Alumni Oxonienses, ed. Joseph Foster,
Ist ser., 1500-1714,4 vols., Oxford,
1891-2; 2nd. ser., 1715-1886,4 vols.,
Oxford, 1887-8.
Foster, Philharmonic
Myles Birkett Foster, The History of
the Philharmonic Society of London.
1813-1912,1912.
GM The Gentleman's Magazine, 1731-
xiv

1880. References are to the year and
part.
Grove
Grove's Dictionary of Music and
Musicians, followed by edition number
(Grove': The New Grove Dictionary of
Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie, 20 vols.,
1980).
Harmonicon
The Harmonicon: A Journal of Music,
1823-33.
Humphries and Smith Charles Humphries and William C.
Smith, Music Publishing in the British
Isles from the Be ig nning until the
Middle of the Nineteenth Century,
Oxford, 1970.
Jackson
11omas Jackson, The Life of the Rev.
Charles Wesley. MA, 2 vols., 1841.
JBIOS
Journal of the British Institute of Oriza
Studies, 1977-.
Kassler, Science of Music
Jamie Croy Kassler, The Science of
Music in Britain. 1714-1830: A
Catalogge of Writings. Lectures
_and
Inventions, 2 vols., New York, 1979.
Kassler, 'Lectures'
Jamie Croy Kassler, Me Royal
Institution Lectures 1800-1831: A
xv

Preliminary Study', Royal Musical
Association Research Chronicle, 19
(1983-5), 1-30.
King
Alec 11yatt King, Some British
Collectors of Music, Cambridge, 1963.
Langley
Leanne Langley, 'The English Musical
Journal in the Early Nineteenth
Century', Ph. D. diss., University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1983.
Lightwood
James T. Lightwood, Samuel Wesley.
Musician: The Stojy of his Life, 1937.
London Encyclopaedia
ne London Encyclopaedia, ed. Ben
Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert,
1983.
Lonsdale
Roger Lonsdale, Dr Charles Burney: A
Literary Biography, Oxford, 1965.
Matthews
Betty Matthews, The Royal Society of
Musicians of Great Britain: List of
Members 1738-1984,1985.
Mercer
Charles Burney, A
-General
History of
Music, ed. Frank Mercer, 2 vols.,
1935, repr. New York, 1957.
ML Music and Letters, 1920-.
MM
The Monthly Magazine and-B-Brl:
-tis-h
xvi

R-eg-ister, 1790-1826.
MQ
The Music, 11-0mirterly, 1915-.
MR
The-Music Review, 1940-84.
MT
Musical Times, 1844-.
Munby
A. N. L. Munby, The-Cult-of th
Autogniph Letter in England, 1962.
w
The Musical World. A Weekly-Record
of Musical Science. Literature and
Intelligenc ,
1836-91.
MW Obituary
'Professional Memoranda of the Late
Mr. Samuel Wesley's Life', MW, 7
(1837), 81-93,113-118.
Neighbour and Tyson
Oliver Neighbour and Alan Tyson,
English Music Publishers' Plate
Numbers in the First Half of th
Nineteenth Centu ,
1965.
New Bach Reader
The New Bach Reader: A Life of
Johann Sebastian Bach in-Letters-and
Documents, ed. Hans T. David and
Arthur Mendel, rev. and enlarged by
Christoph Wolff, New York and
London, 1998.
Nichols and Wray
R. H. Nichols and F. A. Wray, The
History of the Foundling Hospital,
xvii

1935.
NMMR
The New Musical Magazine. Review.
and Register of Valuable Musical
Publications. Ancient and Modern,
1809-10.
OCEL
The Oxford Companion to English
Literature, ed. Margaret Drabble, 5th
edn., Oxford, 1985.
OED
Oxford English Dictionary.
Olleson
Philip Olleson, 'Samuel Wesley and the
European Magazine', Notes, 52 (1996),
1097-111.
Oxford
Arnold Whitaker Oxford, No 4: An
Introduction to the History of the Royal
Somerset House and Inverness Lodge,
1928.
Plantinga
Leon Plantinga, Muzio Clementi: His
Life and Music, 1977.
Plumley
Nicholas M. Plumley, The Organs of
the City of London, Oxford, 1996.
OMMR
Quarterly Musical Magazine and
Review, 1818-29.
Rees
The Cyclopaedia; or. Universal
Dictionary of Arts. Sciences and
xviii

iea, tur ,
ed. Abraham Rees, 45
vols., 1802-20.
Sainsbury
John 11. Sainsbury, A Dictionary of
Musicians, 1824.
Shaw
Watkins Shaw, The Succession o
Organists of the Chapel Royal-and the
Cathedrals of England and Wales fro
c, 1538, Oxford, 1991.
Stevenson, City Road
George J. Stevenson, City Road Chapel
London and
its Associations.
Historical- iographica .
and
Memorial, [18721.
Stevenson, Memorials
George J. Stevenson, Memorials of th
Wesley Famil ,
1876.
Sullivan, ýAAJ
Alvin Sullivan, British LiteMa
Magazines: The Augiistine Age and the
Age of Johnson. 1698-1788, Westport,
Conn. and London, 1983.
Sullivan, TRA
Alvin Sullivan, British Literary
Magazines: The Romantic Age. 1789-
1896, Westport, Conn. and London,
1983.
Survey of London Survey of London, 46 vols., 1900-
Thistlethwaite
Nicholas Thistlethwaite, The Or agns of
xix

Cambridize;
-An Tntroduction to the
Organs of the University-and City of
Cambridge, Oxford, 1983.
Venn
Alumni Cantabrigiensgi. Part 11: 1752-
1900, ed. J. A. Venn, 6 vols.,
Cambridge, 1940-54.
Wainwright
Wesley/Langshaw Correspondence-,
Charles Wesley. his Sons. and the
Uncaster Organists, ed. Arthur
Wainwright and Don E. Saliers,
[Atlanta, Georgia], 1993.
Warrack
John Warrack, Carl Maria von Weber,
Cambridge, 1968; 2nd edn., 1976.
WMM
The Wesleyan Methodist Magazine,
1822-1913.
Wroth
Warwick Wroth, The London Pleasure
Gardens in the Eighteenth Century,
1896.
Young
Percy M. Young, Beethoven: A
Victorian Tribute based on the Papers
of Sir George Smart, 1976.
References to Shakespeare are to the Complete Works, ed. Stanley Wells
and Gary Taylor (Oxford, 1988).
xx

References to the Bible are to the Authorized Version.
xxi

CHRONOLOGY
1766 Samuel Wesley (SW) born in Bristol, 24 Feb., the son of
Charles and Sarah Gwynne Wesley.
1769 First musical activities: a child prodigy.
1771 Charles Wesley takes lease on house in Marylebone.
1773 First keyboard lessons from David Williams, a Bristol
organist.
1773 Composes an oratorio, Ruth, to words by the Revd. Thomas
Haweis.
1774 Family visited by Boyce, who proclaims SW `a second
Mozart'. SW plays a psalm at a service at St James's church,
Bristol.
1776 SW moves permanently to Marylebone. Visits Russell family
in Guildford, summer.
1778 Beginning of involvement with Roman Catholicism.
1779-87 Family concerts, involving SW and his brother Charles.
Many compositions.
1780 First Latin church music compositions, Nov.
1780-4 Many further Latin church music compositions.
1782 Beginning of relationship with Charlotte Louisa Martin, Oct.
1783 Death of SW's friend James Price, who leaves him E1,000
and a house at Guildford, Aug.
1784 Converts to Roman Catholicism. Composes Missa de Spiritu
xxii

&-nm, May; sends a revised version to Pope Pius VI, Sept.
1784 Starts to teach at Mrs Barnes's girls' school, Marylebone.
1788 Death of Charles Wesley, 29 Mar.
1788 Becomes a Freemason: admitted to the Lodge of Antiquity,
17 Dec.
1792 Moves to Ridge, Hertfordshire, and sets up house with
Charlotte, Oct.
1793 Marries Charlotte, 5 Apr. Son Charles born, 25 Sept.
1794 Completes Ode to St Cecilia, 21 Oct.
1798 Applies unsuccessfully for the post of organist at the
Foundling Hospital, Mar.
1799 Renews his acquaintance with Charles Burney, Jan. Ode to
St Cecilia performed at Covent Garden, 22 Feb. Son John
William born, probably June. Completes Confitebor-tibi.
Doming, 14 Aug.
1800 Performs an organ concerto at a performance of Haydn's
Creation, 21 Apr.
1802 Unsuccessful concert series at Tottenham Street Rooms,
Jan. -May.
1802-5 Period of depression and inactivity.
1805 Rapprochement with Charlotte, spring.
1805-6 Lent a copy of J. S. Bach's `48' by Pinto, before 23 Mar.
1806.
1806 Daughter Emma Frances born, Jan. or Feb.
xxiii

1807 Completes manuscript copy of `48', by 21 May. Writes to
Burney about his enthusiasm for Bach, late summer or early
autumn.
1808 Starts to promote the music of J. S. Bach. Gives recital at
Surrey Chapel, 15 Mar. Benefit concert at Hanover Square
Rooms, 11 June. Visits Cambridge and performs Bach there,
June-July. Beginning of correspondence with Benjamin
Jacob, Aug. Te Deum and Jubilate performed at
St Paul's
Cathedral, 30 Oct.
1809 Visits Bath, Jan. -Feb.
Lectures on music at the Royal
Institution of Great Britain, Mar. -May.
Benefit concert at
Hanover Square Rooms, 3 June. Created a Master Mason at
Somerset house Lodge, 27 June. Directs music festival at
Tamworth, 21-22 Sept. Performs in a concert in
Birmingham, 23 Sept. With C. F. Horn, publishes an edition
of Bach organ trio-sonatas. Lectures at Surrey Institution,
Nov. -Dec.
Gives recital of Bach's music at Surrey Chapel
with Jacob and J. P. Salomon, 29 Nov.
1810 Marriage breakdown, probably Jan. Sets up house with Sarah
Suter. Benefit concert at Hanover Square Rooms, 19 May.
Son Samuel Sebastian born, 14 Aug.
1810-13 With C. F. Horn, publishes an edition of Bach's `48' in four
parts.
1811 Visits Christopher Jeaffreson in 'Install, Suffolk, Jan.
xxiv

Lectures at Surrey Institution, Feb.
-Mar. Benefit concert at
Hanover Square Rooms, 27 Apr. First extant letter to
Vincent Novello, May. Directs Birmingham Music Festival,
2-4 Oct.
1812 Appointed masonic Grand Organist, May. Benefit concert at
Hanover Square Rooms, 5 June. Visits Ramsgate and
Margate and gives concerts with Samuel Webbe II, Sept. -
Oct.
1813 Becomes organist at Covent Garden Lenten oratorio
concerts, Mar. Benefit concert at Argyll Street Rooms, 4
May. Visits Ipswich and performs at the festival, June-July.
Becomes an associate member of the Philharmonic Society,
autumn. Applies unsuccessfully for Foundling Hospital
organist's appointment, Nov. Plays at union of the two
masonic Grand Lodges of England, 27 Dec.
1814 Begins to write reviews of music for European Magazine,
Feb. Daughter Rosalind born?. Visits and performs in
Norwich, Oct.
1815 Benefit concert at Covent Garden, 13 May (with C. J.
Ashley). Visits and performs in Great Yarmouth and
Norwich, July. Becomes a full member of the Philharmonic
Society, 1 June, and a Director, 22 Nov.
1816 Motet 'Father of Light' perfortned at Philhannonic Society
concert, 29 Apr. Benefit concert at Covent Garden, 1 June
xxv

(with Ashley). Collapses while travelling to Norwich
following the death of a child, early Aug. Recovers
temporarily, but health declines.
1817 Continuing decline in health culminating in serious
breakdown, early May. Benefit concert at Covent Garden
held in his absence, 24 May. Confined in Blacklands House,
Chelsea, a private lunatic asylum, June?.
1818 Discharged from Blacklands House, late June.
1818-23 Period of depression and slow recuperation.
1819 Resumes position as organist at Covent Garden oratorio
concerts, Feb. Daughter Eliza born, 6 May.
1821 Applies unsuccessftillY for organist's position at St Pancras
New Church, Feb. Son Matthias Erasmus born, 19 Apr.
1822 Accepts invitation to become an honorary member of the
Royal Academy of Music, Sept. Arranges music for the
barrels of the organ being built for Walter McGeough by
James Bishop, Oct. -Nov. Composes Anglican Magnificat and
Nunc Dimittis, thus completing his Service, Nov. Mother
dies, 28 Dec.
1823 Applies unsuccessfully for organist's position at St
Lawrence, Jewry, Jan. Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis from
Service performed at St Paul's Cathedral, 25 Dec.
1824 Applies unsuccessfullY for organist's position at St George's,
Hanover Square, February. Proposals for publication of
xxvi

Service issued, Feb. Service perfonned in full at St Paul's, 3
and 25 Apr. Appointed organist at Camden Chapel. May.
Publication of Sainsbury's Dictionaly of Music, containing
article stating that SW had died 'aroýnd 1815', Oct. Service
published, late Oct.
1825 Service reviewed in Harmonicon, Jan., and in QMM , Apr.
Arrested and imprisoned for debt following financial crisis, 4
May. Released, 8 May. Son John bom, late June or early
July. Visits Cambridge for a week in June and two weeks in
July and Aug. Perfonns Confitebor with Vincent Novello on
the organ of Trinity College chapel to an invited audience.
1826 Granted permission by University of Cambridge to transcribe
and publish music in the Fitzwilliarn collection, 1 Mar.
Visits Cambridge, Mar. -Apr., and issues proposals for an
edition of Byrd antiphons from a Fitzwillian' Museum
manuscript. Lectures at Royal Institution, Apr. -May.
Confitebor performed at the Argyll Street ROOnis, 4 May.
Visits Cambridge again and discovers a Inanuscript of hymn
tunes by Handel to words by his father, Sept. Publishes an
edition of the hymns, Nov.
1827 Publishes a second edition of the Handel IIYMIIS. Mar.
Lectures at Royal Institution, Mar. -May.
Attends Breakfast
for the Children of the Methodist Preachers at (2ity Road
Chapel, 3 May.
xxvii

1828 Lectures at London Institution, Jan., and Royal Institution,
Mar. -Apr.
Publishes Original ITymn Tuncs-Adapted to Every
Metre-in the-Collection by-the Rev. John Wesley, Aug.
Gives the inaugural organ recital at Brunswick Methodist
Chapel, Ixeds, 12 Sept. Sister Sarah dies, 19 Sept. Daughter
Thomasine born.
1829 Visits Bristol and gives organ recitals at St Mary Redcliffe
and other Bristol churches, Sept. -Oct.
1830 Lectures at Bristol Institution, Jan. Further breakdown in
health, followed by virtual retirement from public life,
summer. Son Robert Glenn bom, 21 Nov.
1834 Brother Charles dies, 23 May. Composes funeral anthem
'All go unto one place', which he directs at a Sacred
Harmonic Society concert, August.
1836 Contributes historical article to the first issue of The Musical
World, 18 March. Writes his manuscript Reminiscences,
Apr.
1837 Copies out score of Ode to St Cecilia from memory, July.
Meets and plays to Mendelssohn at Christ Church, Newgate
Street, 12 Sept. Dies, 11 Oct.
xxviii

BIOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION
Samuel Wesley was born in Bristol on 24 February 1766 into a family
of extraordinary achievements and high-mindedness. Charles Wesley, his
father, was the principal poet and hymn-writer of Methodism; his uncle John
was the movement's founder. Samuel was to be the youngest child, joining
Charles, eight years his senior, and Sarah, almost seven years older. The
family was a musical one: Samuel's father had played the flute in his youth,
his mother sang, and his brother Charles, eight years his senior, was a child
prodigy whose musical abilities had brought a steady stream of visitors to the
family home since his earliest childhood.
It was not long before Samuel was showing unmistakeable signs of
musicality himself. His father later recorded Samuel's delight at a very early
age at hearing music, and his insistence on attending Charles's harpsichord
lessons and accompanying him. 'on the chair. I According to the same account,
he played his first tune at just under three, taught himself to read from a copy
of Handel's Samso at four, and by the age of five 'had all the recitatives, and
choruses of Samson and the Messiah: both words and notes by heart'. At the
age of six he had some keyboard lessons from David Williams, a Bristol
organist, although according to his father 'it was hard to say which was the
master and which the scholar'. He also had violin and organ lessons, and at
seven played a psalm at a service at St James's church. Hisfirst compositiOns
apparently predated his learning to write music: according to his father he
frequently improvised scenes from oratorio texts at the keyboard, and the
xxix

family noticed that when he came to repeat them, the music was always the
same. Before he was six lie had composed the airs for an entire oratorio,
Ruth, which he then held in his memory until he was able to write them
down, over two years later.
These exploits predictably attracted attention. In 1774, shortly after
Samuel had written down the music of Ruth, William Boyce visited the
family, announcing that he had heard that there was 'an English Mozart' in
the house. The comparison would readily have come to mind: the young
Mozart, ten years Samuel's senior, had spent fifteen months in London in
1764-5, exhibiting much the same near-miraculous precocity. Boyce's
comment after looking over the score of Ruth was: 'these airs are some of the
prettiest I have seen; this boy writes by nature as true a bass as I can by rule
and study'. His remark went to the heart of the matter: like Mozart, his
brother, and other musical child prodigies before and since, Samuel possessed
from his earliest years musical accomplishments that normally took years of
concentrated work to acquire.
The education of Charles and Samuel caused obvious problems. It
would have been unthinkable for one in Charles Wesley senior's position to
have exhibited them in public for financial gain; in fact he appears to have
kept them as much as possible out of the public gaze, and to have strictly
rationed their appearances at public concerts. At the same time, he would have
realized that if they were to develop their full potential they would need to
learn from the best teachers and to be exposed to as many musical experiences
as possible. Such considerations were no doubt uppermost in his mind when
xxx

he decided to move the family from Bristol to London. In 1771 he was given
the use of a house in Marylebone - at the time a village on the outskirts of
London -
by a wealthy well-wisher. For some time the family kept on their
Bristol house and divided their time between Bristol* and London, but in 1776
Samuel moved permanently to Marylebone, and two years later the family
moved entirely from Bristol.
Perhaps inevitably, Samuel spent much of his childhood in the
company of adults. For some of the time he was entrusted to the care of his
godfather, the evangelical clergyman and amateur musician Martin Madan.
Madan would later achieve notoriety for his controversial Thelyphthora: or a
Treatise on Female Ruin (1780). At this time, however, he was chiefly known
as a charismatic preacher and as the chaplain of the Lock Hospital, an asylum
for women with venereal diseases, where the chapel had achieved renown
because of the excellence of its music. Madan took Samuel on visits to his
friends and acquaintances, where his musical abilities inevitably made him the
object of much attention. Another child might have enjoyed the experience,
but Samuel stated later that he had felt humiliated by it, and had resented his
father's behaviour in allowing Madan to carry him around 'like a raree show':
This soured my temper toward him at an early age. I
contracted a dislike of my father's conduct, which grew with
my growth, and strengthened with my strength. 2
But Samuel's visits to Madan's friends were not entirely taken up with
music: family letters from the summer of 1776 include descriptions. of an
extended stay with the Russell family in Guildford which included games of
xxxi

cricket, experiments with home-made explosives, and firework displays. John
Russell senior (1711-1804), the head of the family, was a printer and several
times mayor of Guildford; John Russell, RA (1745-1806), his elder son, was
a portrait painter who during this visit painted the well-known portrait of
Samuel as a boy which now hangs at the Royal Academy of Music. Also
among the Guildford circle was the experimental scientist James Price,
sometimes described as the last of the alchemists, who committed suicide in
1783 after being unable to substantiate claims that he was able to transmute
lead into gold, and who left Samuel a house and fl, 000 in his will.
Some of the problems faced by Charles. Wesley senior in deciding how
best to manage the upbringing of Charles and Samuel were those which have
always confronted the parents of exceptionally gifted children. ' But these were
compounded by Charles's prominent position within Methodism and by other,
class-related, factors. As a music-lover himself, and as a Christian father
mindful of the parable of the talents, he would have considered it his duty to
ensure that Charles and Samuel were given every opportunity to develop their
abilities to their fullest extent. On the other hand, many Methodists, including
Charles's brother John, looked with considerable suspicion on the sensual
appeal of music and its use in any other context than that of worship. Public
concerts, with their close associations with the theatre, were a cause of
particular disapproval, and even religious music was suspect if it was at all
elaborate. Charles was already criticized in some Methodist circles for the
worldliness of his social circle. John Fletcher voiced what was presumably a
widely felt concern when he wrote to Charles in 1771:
xxxii

You have your enemies, as well as your brother, they complain
of your love for musick. company. fine-people. great folk ,
and of the want of your fonner zeal and frugalily. I need not
put you in mind to cut off sinful apl2earances.
Charles Wesley tended to react robustly to criticisms of his children's musical
activities, replying on one occasion to a correspondent who had criticized him
for allowing Charles to play in public that he had intended him for the
Church, but that nature had intended otherwise, and that the only way he
could have prevented him from being a musician would have been by cutting
off
his fingers.
It is apparent, however, that for all his love of music and his desire to
see his children receive the best possible musical education, Charles Wesley
senior had considerable misgivings about music as a suitable profession for
them. His unease, although it may have been magnified by the particular
circumstances of his position, did not arise specifically from his Methodist
background, but would have been shared by most parents of his time and
class. Irrespective of the value one might individually place on music, one
would not welcome the prospect of one's children entering a profession with
such a low status and high degree of insecurity!
For the moment, however, Charles Wesley's first priority was to
advance his sons' musical education, and allowing them to organize concerts
at the family home must have appeared to him as an ideal way of achieving
this aim. He set out his motives in a document headed 'reasons for letting my
sons have a concert at home' dated 14 January 1779, which reveals much of
xxxiii

the ambivalence of his attitudes:
(1) To keep them out of hann's way: the way (I mean) of
bad music and bad musicians who by a free communication
with them might corrupt both their taste and their morals.
(2) That my sons may have a safe and honourable
opportunity of availing themselves of their musical abilities,
which have cost me several hundred pounds.
(3) That they may enjoy their full right of private judgment, and
likewise their independency; both of which must be given up if they
swim with the stream and follow the multitude.
(4) To improve their play and their skill in composing: as they
must themselves ftimish the principal music of every concert, although
they do not call their musical entertaim-nent a concert. It is too great
a word. They do not presume to rival the present great masters who
excel in the variety of their accompaniments. All they airn at in their
concert music is exactness. '
The family concerts, which ran for nine seasons from 1779 to 1787,
included examples of music in both the 'ancient' and newer styles, performed
by a small professional ensemble which included both Charles and Samuel, to
audiences which on occasion numbered over fifty. In addition to giving both
sons experience of performing, the concerts were also ideal opportunities for
them to try out their compositions, and all of Samuel's instrumental music of
the period - including five symphonies, and a number of organ and violin
concertos - can be assumed to have been written for them. Recent recordings
xxxiv

and performances have shown them to be highly competent and attractive
works, if sometimes understandably derivative in style.
Although the family concerts did much to fulfil Charles Wesley
senior's aim of furthering his sons' musical education while keeping them 'out
of harm's way, it is not clear how they fitted into any longer-tenn plans he
may have had for their future. If, on the one hand, the concerts reflected his
reluctant acceptance that they would probably eventually become professional
musicians despite all his misgivings, he may have looked on them as a
sheltered apprenticeship, in which they could gain necessary experience
without being exposed too early to the potentially corrupting professional
music world. But both sons would sooner or later need to make the transition,
and the family concerts only delayed the moment when this would need to
happen. In fact, by the time of the final series of concerts in 1787, both boys
were of an age when their less privileged contemporaries would long have
been earning a. living in music. If, on the other hand, he envisaged that his
sons would eventually earn their living in other fields, he would have seen the
concerts as a way of allowing them for the moment to practise music at the
highest level with professionals, while still remaining gentlemen amateurs. But
if this was what he had in mind, it too was unsatisfactory, in that the concerts
effectively provided a full professional training which led nowhere.
Sheltered though he was from the world of professional music-making
during the late 1770s and early 1780s, Samuel was nonetheles searching out
new musical experiences wherever he could find them. He would no doubt
have attended services at St Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and other
xxxv

Anglican establishments. Rather more surprizing, however, was his discovery
of Roman Catholic worship, and a very different set of religious and musical
traditions. From remarks in two letters from Charles Wesley to his wife, the
date can be established as the late summer of 1718. Samuel's involvement
must have been with one or more of the embassy chapels, which were at this
time the main centres of worship for London Roman Catholics. The three
largest chapels were those of the Bavarian, Sardinian, and Portuguese
embassies, where the Mass and the Offices were celebrated with considerable
splendour of liturgy and ritual. At an early stage Samuel would have met
Samuel Webbe 1 (1740-1814), the organist of the Sardinian and Portuguese
chapels, and the most important figure in Roman Catholic church music in
London at this time. Webbe would have welcomed Samuel and would have
given him the opportunity to sing in the choir, play the organ, and in thne to
compose for the services.
Charles Wesley's reaction to Samuel's continuing involvement with
Roman Catholicism is not recorded, but can readily be imagined: intense
disapproval, coupled with anxiety for Samuel's spiritual welfare, and above
all a fear that he might convert. At the same time, it would have been
inconsistent with his views on freedom of conscience for him to have
considered forbidding Samuel's continued attendance. He was also no doubt
sufficiently realistic to realize that any attempt to do so would be counter-
productive, as by this time Samuel was by this time exhibiting a rebellious
streak and becoming increasingly resistant to any form of parental discipline.
His worries may have been to some extent assuaged by the thought of the
xxxvi

musical benefits that Samuel was deriving from his attendance, and the
assurances that Samuel may well have given that his reasons for continuing to
attend were exclusively musical.
In fact, Samuel did convert in early 1784: h course of action which
dismayed and sorrowed Charles Wesley and further contributed to the already
deteri orating relationship between father and son. To mark the event,
in May
Samuel composed a large-scale setting of the Mass which he later fair-copied
and had bound and sent off to Pope Pius VI. The Missa de, spiritu sancto,
scored for soloists, chorus, and orchestra and lasting for around 90 minutes
in performance, was Wesley's longest and most ambitious work to date,
written on a scale matched by few other Mass settings of the period either in
England or on the continent, and suitable for liturgical use on only the
grandest of occasions. It seems unlikely that Samuel expected that it would be
performed in Rome, and there were certainly no opportunities for it to be used
in the London embassy chapels. He probably regarded it as a presentation
piece, written to demonstrate at the same time his seriousness of commitment
and his technical prowess.
Samuel's period of whole-hearted commitment to Roman Catholicism
appears to have lasted for some years, although as time went on there were
increasing tensions between his own convictions and the teachings of the
Church. Some correspondence of early 1792 shows him unprepared to accept
the Church's authority on certain points of doctrine. Uncertain whether or not
his views were to be regarded as heretical, he stated that until the matter was
resolved he no longer intended to attend services at 'public chapels'. This
xxxvii

disagreement may in fact have marked the end of his active spiritual
involvement with Roman Catholicism, and when he returned to the Church
some years later, it was for purely musical reasons. In later life he regarded
the episode of his conversion with embarrassment and tried to pretend that it
had never happened, claiming that 'although the Gregorian music had seduced
hhn to their chapels, the tenets of the Romanists never obtained any influence
over his mind'. " His subsequent attitude to the Roman Catholic church was
highly ambivalent, consisting of a fascination with its liturgy and music
combined with a deep distaste for its teaching and doctrines, summed up in
his remark that 'if the Roman Doctrines were like the Roman Music we
should have Heaven upon Earth'. '
Samuel's conversion to Roman Catholicism was only one of a number
of factors adversely affecting his relations with his family at this time.
Another was his passionate relationship with Charlotte Louisa Martin, whom
he first met in October 1782 and was to marry
in April 1793. The daughter
of a Captain Martin, presumably a former soldier, and variously described as
a demonstrator of anatomy and a surgeon at St Thomas's hospital, she was
four or five years older than Samuel, and may have been a teacher at one of
the schools at which Samuel gave music lessons. 'Me family disapproved of
her and her background from the start, claiming that she was vain and
extravagant, and pointing to a history of financial imprudence in her family.
At some stage Charles Wesley appears to have attempted to insist that Samuel
should break off the relationship and have nothing more to do with her. The
result was predictable: Samuel refused, the relationship between him and his
xxxviii

father - already under strain because of Samuel's involvement with Roman
Catholicism -
further deteriorated, and the bond between him and Charlotte
was ftirther strengthened.
Inextricably entangled with Samuel's family problems during his
adolescence were the beginnings of the mental illness which so markedly
affected his later career. His tendency to depression, leading on occasion to
periods of prolonged incapacity, has always been recognized by his
biographers. It is clear, however, that this was only one aspect of his illness,
and that a more accurate diagnosis is of manic depression, in which periods
of depression alternate with periods of hypornania. Such periods are typically
characterized by a wide range of uninhibited behaviour, and in the case of
creative artists often by great creativity. The irregular pattern of Samuel's
compositional output in the 1780s, varying between great productivity and
almost complete inactivity, is consistent with such a diagnosis. So is his
behaviour at the same time, as reported in family letters: it included incidents
of drunkenness, staying out all night, and the physical abuse of servants, all
of which suggest something more than the normal mood-swings of
adolescence. A low point must have been reached in the summer of 1785,
when his father felt it necessary to take the extraordinary and humiliating step
of begging Bishop Talbot, the Roman Catholic Vicar Apostolic of the London
district, to assert his spiritual authority to keep Samuel under control, as he
was no longer able to do so himself.
Wesley attained his majority in February 1787. Now that he was no
longer either a child prodigy or a precocious adolescent, he needed to find a
xxxix

ole in the adult world. He seems to have regarded a future as a musician with
scant enthusiasm. As subsequent remarks scattered through the correspondence
reveal, he deeply resented the quirk of fate which had given him such
outstanding musical abilities, and which he considered had at the same time
disqualified him from following any other profession. Much of this resentment
was directed at his father, for encouraging his musical education and
'suffering' him to be a musician. By the time he entered adult life, the
unglamorous reality of much of the musician's life must have become ever
more apparent to him: the low status of the professional musician, the large
amount of teaching that all but the most eminent performers needed to
undertake in order to earn a basic living, the frequent physical discomforts of
conceft life, and the lack of any career progression.
In fact, Wesley appears for the moment to have turned away from
music: there are no records of him performing in public and he seems to have
stopped composing. His sole musical activity was his teaching, both in schools
and privately. This was undemanding work for one of his abilities, and had
little to recommend it beyond the money it brought in. Otherwise, little is
known about his activities at this period, and his life appears to have been one
of ahnlessness and lack of direction, very probably punctuated by shorter or
longer periods of depression.
In 1787, according to his obituary notice in The Thnes, Wesley
suffered a serious head injury which he subsequently blamed for his mental
health problems. But there is no mention of such an incident in family letters
or papers, and the first signs of Wesley's condition had manifested themselves
X1

at least three years earlier. As the account of the head injury apparently'came
from Wesley himself, it should not be dismissed as a fiction, but there must
be doubt about the precise date at which it occurred, to say nothing of its
effects.
In December 1788 Wesley became a Freemason. Little is known about
this event; it should be stressed, however, that it is not (as has somethnes
been supposed) of any relevance to the question of his continued commitment
to Roman Catholicism, as there was no ideological incompatibility at this time
in England between Roman Catholicism and Freemasonry, and many English
Catholics were also Freemasons.
Throughout the 1780s, Wesley and Charlotte remained as committed
to each other as ever, their relationship no doubt gaining in strength with each
additional instance of family opposition. After the death of Charles Wesley in
March 1788, it might have been expected that they would consider marriage:
by this time they had known each other for over five years, and their
commitment had been tested by constant family opposition, at least on
Wesley's side. In addition, Wesley had on his majority probably come into
money left to him in various bequests, including the substantial one from
James Price. As he and Charlotte intended to spend the rest of their lives
together and were openly conducting a passionately physical relationship, there
were no compelling reasons, apart from family disapproval, why they should
not marry, and several reasons why they should.
In fact, the question of marriage does not seem for the moment to have
been considered, and when the subject Came up again some time later, the
x1i

grounds of the family's concern had shifted. By now, they recognized the
strength and apparent permanence of Wesley's commitment to Charlotte, and
had abandoned their former attempts to persuade him to give her up. Instead,
they now attempted to persuade him to regularize the situation by marrying
her. Part of their concern undoubtedly stemmed from worries about Charlotte
becoming pregnant, and the stigma of illegitimacy which would attend any
resulting children. Indeed, it appears from a reference in a family letter of
1791 that Charlotte had by this time had a child by Samuel; ' nothing further
is known of this child and its fate, however, and it seems most likely that it
was either stillborn or died in early infancy, or possibly that it was given
away for adoption.
It is at this point that the story takes a totally unexpected turn.
Wesley's response to family suggestions that he and Charlotte should marry
was a flat refusal, on the surprising grounds that he considered them to be
married already by virtue of their sexual intimacy, and that going through a
religious ceremony would do nothing to alter matters. This stance, which he
set out in detail in a remarkable series of letters to his sister Sarah in the
summer of 1791, derived from arguments which his godfather Martin Madan
had elaborated, but for very different purposes, in Thelyphthora. In an attempt
to force men to take responsibility for their sexual behaviour, Madan had
argued that the essence of marriage lay not in a legal ceremony but in sexual
intercourse. If this could be established and enshrined into law, a man who
had sexual intercourse with a woman could be held responsible for her
maintenance and that of any resulting child or children. Madan claimed that
xlii

this well-intentioned but eccentric position was supported by scriptural
authority, arguing that there was nothing in the Bible to suggest that a
religious ceremony was an essential component of marriage. One very obvious
problem with this position was posed by men who had sexual intercourse with
more than one woman. To cope with this, Madan was obliged to argue for
polygamy, once more citing the Bible. Not surprisingly, it was this aspect of
his argument that attracted the most attention and opposition - often from
those who had not troubled to familiarize themselves with the entirety of his
argument - and which led first to his public notoriety and ultimately to his
disgrace.
In Wesley's hands, Madan's arguments were given a new and personal
application. If the essence of marriage was indeed in sexual intercourse, then
he and Charlotte were already married, and there could be no reason for them
also to go through a church ceremony. It is difficult to think of a position
which could have caused more offence and hurt to his family. In his refusal
to marry, Samuel was claiming to be adopting not a libertarian stance, but a
position of principle, backed by the full weight of biblical authority. At the
same thne he paraded his physical intimacy with Charlotte in front of his
family, expressed his contempt for the marriage ceremony, and impugned the
integrity of all those who celebrated it. It was an extraordinary position to
take, and one which - Madan and Thelyphthora apart - finds no resonance in
any thinking of the time.
Although Madan's arguments gave Samuel's position intellectual
backing of a sort, he had more down-to-earth reasons for his refusal to marry,
xliii

which on occasion he was prepared to acknowledge. One was financial; the
other purely a matter of his refusal to conform to expected norms of
behaviour. As he explained to Sarah in June 1791:
I have but two objections to marrying. The first is I am not
rich enough: the second that to tie my person wd be to lose my
heart: and she who valued it would hardly consent to that. It is
impossible for me to explain to another the reason of some
irresistible antipathies, and I can only declare this truth, that
my aversion to constraint is invincible. '
For all the vehemence of Wesley's arguments and his repeated
protestations of his commitment to Charlotte, it was not until the autumn of
1792 that they decided to set up house together and live together as man and
wife. Samuel described this move in an important letter to his mother which
more than any other document conveys his own feelings for Charlotte, his
family's opposition, and his views on marriage:
I think I need not be told that every grand Step in Life
ought to be well weighed, & thoroughly considered before it be
taken: -
It is certain that I have taken one of these grand Steps
within this Month past, &I
hope, not without having
previously & seriously reflected on the Consequences of it.
An Acquaintance of ten Years duration has confirmed
me in the Resolution of passing "Life's Sea" with that "Mate",
whose every Action has given the Lye to her Accusers. - It is
true that her Enemies have been found only among the Base &
xliv

Unworthy, yet as their cruel & unfounded Aspersions have
unfortunately sunk too deep in the Minds of those who deserve
to be undeceived, I shall not believe it Time lost, to animadvert
upon a few of their Charges.
Charlotte Louisa Martin has been represented as a fickle
& unsteady Character. Whether this be true or false, let the
following Fact decide. --
It was in October 1782 that I first
became acquainted with her; soon after which time, she
acknowledged that she loved me: since then she has to my
Knowledge had repeated & eligible Offers not of a
dishonourable Connexion but of an honourable Alliance; not of
Concubinage but of Marriage, from Men qualified to support
her in a Style shnilar to that in which she was originally
educated: but to these she has preferred Me in my wooden
Cottage, with my splendid Fortune of 150 Pounds a Yearl
Again, she has been held forth as of a careless, prodigal
Disposition, & as closely resembling an extravagant Father &
a vain Mother, whose Iniquities she has (indeed most unjustly)
bome. --
But how does this Charge agree with another Fact?
(which let him deny who can): M" King, (a Bristol Merchant
who has the Management of the desperate Affairs of the
Family) has allowed her, for several Years past, 30 Pounds per
Annum, on which she has hitherto lived, decently, & out of
debt. That she was ever assisted by me in pecuniary Matters,
XIV

I can safely & solemnly declare to be untrue. -- from me she
never received or would accept aught but mere Trifles,
although amongst the other diabolical Slanders it was affirmed
(by him who is gone to his own Place) that I had engaged to
liquidate her Debts & administer to her Luxuries, as soon as
should become of Age.
She has been called a Coquette, nay more; a wanton. --
On these Accusations, as false as God is true, I can reflect with
no Patience: they were engendered in the Heart of Envy, &
vomited from the Mouth of Malice. -
Suffice it to say that I
have had personal Proofs that till she was mine, she was pure
& untouched: proofs which it would not be delicate to adduce. -
- If she was seduced, I alone was her Seducer.
It may easily be believed that the Woman whom I so
well love I would ever wish to render respected by all those
whose good Opinion may be valuable: & if I were to consider
Her as anything else than my Wife, I should confess that I was
adding Insult to Injury. But she is truly & properly my Wife by
all the Laws of God & Nature. She never can be made more
so, by the mercenary Tricks of divine Jugglers; but yet, if a
Million of Ceremonies, repeated Myriads of Times, by as
many Successors & Imitators of Simon Magus, can serve to
make her more happy, or more honourable, I am ready to pU
them for their Hocus Pocus, for I am told that in this
xlvi

Evangelical Age, "the Gift of God is" not "to be purchased"
without Money. "
The house described here as 'a wooden cottage' was in Ridge, a small
village in Hertfordshire near St Albans, some 13 miles outside London, and
Wesley and Charlotte were to live there for the next four years. The decision
to move here was on the face of it a bizarre one. It was probably prompted
in the first place by Wesley's disenchantment with London, coupled with a
desire to live out a rural idyll with Charlotte, far from the intrusive and
censorious attentions of family and acquaintances. Another factor was no
doubt his 'splendid Fortune of 150 Pounds a Year, which was -
notwithstanding his dismissive comment - in fact quite sufficient to free him
from the necessity of full-time work and hence the obligation to live in
London.
If worries about the prospect of illegitimate children were the main
factor in the family's attempts to persuade Wesley and Charlotte to marry,
these must have increased after the move to Ridge. The issue soon became
pressing, for early in 1793 Charlotte became pregnant. The impending birth
of a child was evidently successful in inducing a change of attitude where
repeated arguments and pleas from the family had failed: Wesley and
Charlotte rapidly abandoned their previously cherished principles and married
in early April. Not surprisingly, given the circumstances and the vehemence
with which they had held their former position, the ceremony was quiet, not
to say secretive: it was by special licence, thus obviating the need to call the
banns, and not at Ridge but at Hammersmith, where presumably neither
xlvii

Wesley nor Charlotte was known. None of Wesley's family was present, and
they were not informed that the marriage had taken place until much later.
Incredibly, in letters to Sarah of late August Wesley was still arguing his old
position on the redundancy of the marriage ceremony and making no mention
of the fact that he and Charlotte were now married. " It was not until the
following January that Sarah could record that she had had their marriage
9 confirmed' and had met Charlotte for the first time as her brother's wife. 12
In this way Wesley and Charlotte embarked on married life. Their first
child, Charles, was born on 25 September 1793. But the relationship which
had thrived on ten concentrated years of family opposition before the marriage
rapidly deteriorated after it. As early as October 1794, as Charlotte's
confinement with a second child approached, Wesley was confessing to Sarah:
I love her, as you know, but the event has proved that she was
never designed for my second self. I dwell on her virtues even
now, and as little on her faults as she will let me. But where
can esteem be for her or him who knows not to bridle the
tongue? "
From this point, Wesley made no attempt to conceal his marital
unhappiness from his family, and his letters to his mother and sister describe
frequent quarrels, on occasion escalating into physical violence. Perhaps not
surprisingly, his complaints about Charlotte's character and behaviour bore a
great similarity to those expressed by his family before the marriage. By July
1795, he was considering separation as his only way of escaping a situation
that he was finding increasingly intolerable, and predicting that Charlotte PS
x1viii

dopen violence' would drive him 'more speedily to comfort' than he had
previously expected. " Eighteen months later, he was confiding to his old
friend James Kenton that life with Charlotte had adversely affecting his health:
his memory was weakened, he was seldom calm, and he had aged a dozen
years since the marriage. There was no arguing with Charlotte's 'diabolical,
ungovernable, ferocious, ungrateful disposition', and Samuel and Kenton were
agreed that she was 'incurable among lunaticks'. 15
Despite repeated crises, resulting from time to time in periods of
temporary separation, Wesley and Charlotte remained together until 1810.
There may, of course, have been peaks of happiness to match the troughs of
misery, and more settled and less uneventful times which went unrecorded in
the family correspondence. For a while, at least, some of the strong attraction
that had sustained their commitment through their ten-year courtship appears
to have survived: in an undated letter from around this time, Charlotte
confided to Sarah that Wesley had been 'the love of her youth', that she had
loved him 'better than mortal', and that he had 'taken too strong root' for her
ever to stop loving him, even though she considered that some aspects of his
behaviour disgraced him. "
Musically, Wesley's time at Ridge seems to have been almost entirely
fallow. He continued with his teaching, but there is no evidence of hhn
performing in public during the period, and apart ftom. one major work (the
Ode to St Cecili
there were no further compositions of any significance.
By 1797, any attractions which Ridge may have once have possessed
had evidently long since disappeared, and the Wesleys moved to Finchley:
xlix

now a suburb of London, but at the time still an outlying village. The move
appears to have had a dramatic effect on Wesley's life. Participation in
London musical life immediately became feasible, even if Wesley still needed
on occasion to use the Marylebone house for overnight stays after evening
engagements, as he, had when he lived at Ridge. The change in Wesley's
circumstances is apparent in a fresh crop of compositions. A number of glees,
catches, and other small-scale vocal compositions points to his involvement
with the world of the glee-clubs and other more informal private gatherings
where professionals joined with amateurs for relaxed and convivial music-
making.
After a long silence, Wesley was also once more composing Latin
church music. His compositions of this period include such pieces as the
ambitious eight-part settings of 'Deus Majestatis intonuit' and 'Dixit Dominus'
and the five-part setting of 'Exultate Deo', all of them reflecting his by now
considerable knowledge of English and continental Renaissance polyphonic
styles. As with his earlier Latin church music, there is no evidence to link
these works with any one location, but it is probable that they were written for
the Portuguese embassy chapel, where the sixteen-year-old Vincent Novello
had recently taken up the post of organist.
The rise in spirits that can be inferred from Wesley's sudden
resumption of composition can also be seen in the earliest letters in this
volume. Many are to Joseph Payne Street, a City businessman and a
prominent member of the Madrigal Society, whom Wesley may have got to
know through one or other of the glee clubs, or as a pupil. It was also at
i

around this time that Wesley renewed his acquaintance with the music
historian Charles Burney, and laid the foundations of a friendship that would
continue until Burney's death in 1814.
Wesley's one large-scale work of the period was his Confitebor tibi.
Doming, an hour-long setting for soloists, chorus, and orchestra of Psalm 111,
which he completed in August 1799. The Confitebor is the most successful of
Wesley's large-scale choral works, -combining choruses in the 'ancient'
Handelian. manner with florid solo sections in a more modem idiom in a
manner which demonstrates Wesley's easy mastery of both styles. As with the
earlier Ode to St Cecilia, we know nothing about the circumstances of its
composition, and can only speculate on the plans that Wesley may have had
for its performance. It seems most likely that he wrote it with performance at
one of the Lenten oratorio concerts in mind. If so, he may have intended it for
the 1800 Covent Garden season, following the belated first perforinance of his
Ode to St Cecilia there in February 1799. What is less certain, however, is
how acceptable a setting of a Latin sacred text would have been at an oratorio
concert at this time, and it may have been for this reason that plans for its
performance eventually foundered.
The abortive Confitebor project notwithstanding, it is clear that by
1799 Wesley was seeking to establish himself in London professional musical
life. In the spring of 1798 he had applied unsuccessfully for the post of
organist at the chapel of the Foundling Hospital, where the musical traditions
inaugurated during the lifethne of Handel still continued. His failure to be
elected on this occasion was one of many similar disappointments throughout
ii

his life, and appears to have had nothing to do with his abilities or his fitness
for the post: his reputation as an organist, and particularly as an extempore
player, was by this time well established. In April 1800 he appeared at one
of the earliest performances in England of Haydn'§ The Creation at Covent
Garden, playing continuo and performing his own recently-composed D major
organ concerto between the Acts. In addition, his most recent music was
beginning to appear in print: a set of twelve sonatinas for piano was published
in late 1798 or early 1799, followed around two years later by a further set
of piano sonatas and duets.
A more determined effort to break into London musical life was the
ill-staffed series of subscription concerts at the Tottenham Street rooms that
Wesley and his brother Charles arranged in early 1802. It was for
performance at one of these that Wesley composed his Symphony in B flat,
his only mature work in the genre, and a piece which, like the Confitebo ,
amply demonstrates Wesley's familiarity with the late music of Haydn.
Contemporary information on the concert series is sparse, consisting only of
a single press advertisement and a letter to Burney which gives details of the
programme of one of the concerts and expresses Wesley's regret that they had
not been able to engage the services of the soprano Elizabeth Billington. 17
Nonetheless, it is clear from subsequent correspondence that the series was an
expensive and embarrassing failure which cost Wesley and Charles around
; E100 each.
Notwithstanding the performance of the Ode to St Cecilia, a few
concert appearances, and the promotion of the Tottenham Street series, it
lii

cannot be said that Wesley was a major figure in London's music at this time:
the picture is one of isolated events rather than of sustained activity. A large
part of the reason no doubt lay in his continuing mental health problems, the
cyclical nature of which must have made any long-'term career development
difficult if not impossible. At the same time, his relationship with Charlotte
continued to be stormy. Family letters, not always precisely datable, reveal
a long catalogue of quarrels and unhappiness around the turn of the century,
culminating in Wesley's love affair in or around 1799 with Ann Deane, a
close ftiend of his sister Sarah. The result, in the autumn of 1801, was a
separation from Charlotte and a serious rift with Sarah, followed by an
extended period of depression which appears have been at its most severe in
the summer of 1802 and to have rendered Wesley for a time incapable of any
but the most routine activities. The house at Highgate, where he and Charlotte
had moved from Finchley in 1799, was sold, and for a while nothing
is known
of Wesley's activities, either private or public.
Wesley and Charlotte appear to have had some sort of rapprochement
in the spring of 1805, and it was probably at around this time that they moved
into the house in Arlington Street, Camden Town that they were to occupy
until the final breakdown of their marriage in 1810. Another child, Emma
Frances, was bom in February 1806, joining Charles, now 13, and John
William, born in the summer of 1799 and now almost 6. But although
differences had been patched up and accommodations reached for the moment,
the relationship was evidently as highly charged as before, and as likely to
turn to acrimony and violence. The Roman Catholic bluestocking Mary
Iiii

Freeman Shepherd, who had known Wesley since his boyhood and had been
his confidante at the time of his conversion in 1784, took a jaundiced view of
the relationship. Learning in January 1806 of Charlotte's impending
confinement, she remarked contemptuously in a -letter to Wesley's sister
Sarah: 'his wife I find is ready to lay in. By and by they will be quarrelling
again, like cats that fight when they cease caterwauling. '18
With the move to Camden Town and the birth of Emma Frances, some
degree of domestic normality appears to have returned, although Wesley's
depression continued. He was dissatisfied with his lot as a musician, in
particular the school teaching by which he was obliged to make his main
living. He was also plagued with money worries - some of them no doubt the
result of the domestic problems of the previous few years - and could no
longer afford to maintain Charles at St Paul's School, where he had placed
him only the previous year. For the moment he felt himself trapped by debt
and a heavy load of family responsibilities, and his mood was one of grim
resignation. In a letter of April 1806 to his mother he set out the grounds for
his discontent:
It is absolutely impossible for me to maintain myself & four
other People (not reckoning the infant) upon my present
Income, especially when it is considered that the Person whose
sole Care & Business ought to be to make the most of every
Thing, is & ever will be, a thoughtless, not to say a determined
Spendthrift. If another School, equal in Emolumento Mrs
Barnes's were to offer (which is not very likely) even then the
liv

Matter would not be mended, because the simple Fact is that
my Head & Nerves will not bear the Drudgery of more Dunces
assaulting my Ears for six Hours together. It is not that I am
averse from Employment; no, not of the closest Kind, for those
who know me best know that Application has been my Delight;
but this contemptible, frivolous Work of hammering Sounds
into blockheads, which at last they never rightly comprehend,
is an Avocation, which I cannot increase, without driving
myself either into Madness or Ideotism. 19
This shows Wesley at his most despairing. Other letters of the period
show him in a happier and more active frame of mind. By mid-January 1807,
he was able to profess himself in a letter to his mother 'much more recovered'
in bodily health than he ever expected to be. " Although elsewhere in the letter
he expresses more gloomy thoughts, the tenor of the whole is cheerful
enough, and his letter of the same date to his brother Charles (included in this
volume) extends to eleven pages of lively news and gossip. The contrast with
the despairing letters of the previous year could not be stronger.
At
around the same'time as Wesley's reconciliation with Charlotte and the
resumption of a more settled domestic life was an event which was both to
transfonn his professional fortunes and to give him a cause into which to
concentrate his considerable energies: his discovery of the music of J. S.
Bach.
Although Wesley may have come across a few isolated examples of
Bach's music earlier in publications by A. F. C. Kollmann, William Shield,
lv

and Clementi which appeared between 1796 and 1800, they do not seem to
have made very much of an impression on him. Nor does he appear to have
encountered the three continental editions of the '48' published around 1801,
copies of which presumably arrived in England shoirtly afterwards. In fact,
according to his account in his Reminiscences, Wesley's first encounter with
Bach's music was through a copy of the '481 lent to him by the violinist and
composer George Frederick Pinto. The fact that the loan was from Pinto fixes
the date with some precision: it was probably some time in 1805, and in any
case cannot have been later than early 1806, as Pinto died at the early age of
20 on 23 March of that year. No doubt as a result, Wesley subsequently made
his own manuscript copy from a copy lent to him by the flautist John George
Graeff. " Thereafter, for the moment, his interest appears to have lain
dormant.
The explosive awakening of Wesley's interest in Bach's music can be
dated to the late summer or early autumn of 1807. It was around this time, as
we know from a celebrated letter, that Wesley wrote to Burney to tell him
about his enthusiasm for Bach, subsequently visiting him at Chelsea College
to play examples from the '48' to him. As a result of Wesley's advocacy,
Burney became an enthusiastic convert to the Bach cause, and Wesley came
to rely on him for advice on how Bach's music could best be promoted. By
April 1808 Wesley was asking Burney for his opinion on the likely demand
for an English edition of the '48', to be published by subscription. As a result
of Burney's advice that Bach's music might be 'played into fashion'. 22Wesley
arranged an evidently successful concert of Bach's music at the Hanover
Ivi

Square Rooms on 11 June. At the same time, Wesley consulted Burney on the
advisability of lecturing on Bach, and in another letter recounted his success
in playing Bach while on a visit to Cambridge. '
From August 1808 to the following December the main source of
information on Wesley's activities in promoting Bach is contained in his letters
to Benjamin Jacob, organist of the Surrey Chapel. First published in 1875 in
an edition by Wesley's daughter Eliza as Letters of Samuel Wesley to Mr
Jacobs. relating to the Introduction into this Country of the works of John
Sebastian Bach, the Bach Utters are the most widely known of Wesley's
letters. With their excitable tone, extravagant language, and all-pervading use
of religious imagery, they convey Wesley's enthusiasm for Bach at its height.
In addition, they are an invaluable source of inforination on the day-to-day
progress of the English Bach movement at a crucial early stage.
In the earliest letter of the collection Wesley proposes the formation
of a 'junto' of Bach enthusiasts and a programme of concerted action to
counter the resistance to Bach's music that he was evidently encountering
among more conservative musicians, including his brother Charles. ' A month
later he gives Jacob his celebrated account of the conversion of Burney to the
Bach cause. ' Subsequent letters contain a wealth of information on a number
of Bach-related activities: the projected publication by Wesley and C. F. Hom
26
of an English translation of Forkel's biography of Bach, their edition of the
organ trio sonatas, ' and Wesley's insertion of an arrangement of a Bach fugue
in a performance of one of his own organ concertos at a music festival at
Tarnworth. " Letters of late 1809 contain details of encouraging sales of the
Ivii

organ trios, which Wesley and Horn had been issuing in individual numbers
since the spring of that year, and in a letter which is probably addressed to C.
F. Horn, a report of strong public demand for their proposed new edition of
the '48'. "'There is also discussion of plans for a lafge-scale recital of Bach's
music at the Surrey Chapel, to include one or more of the Violin Sonatas in
addition to Preludes and Fugues from the '48', and evidence of a strong pro-
Bach lobby among the London banking community. 30 Other letters show
Wesley taking care to keep Burney fully infonned of the progress of his
activities, and on occasion arranging private performances of Bach's music for
him at his apartments in Chelsea. One such was in September 1809, when
Wesley on the violin and Jacob on the piano performed one or more of the
violin sonatas; " another was in July 1810, when Wesley and Novello
performed the Goldberg Variations on two pianos, one of which had to be
specially moved into Burney's apartments for the purpose. 32
It was during this exceptionally busy period that the final breakdown
of the Wesleys' marriage occurred. Although details are sparse, it is clear that
the immediate cause was Wesley's liaison with his domestic servant or
housekeeper Sarah Suter, at the time fifteen or at most sixteen years old. The
final separation, no doubt precipitated by the discovery of Sarah's pregnancy,
was in early 1810, whereupon Wesley and Sarah set up house together. They
were to live together unmarried until Wesley's death. Samuel Sebastian, their
first child, was bom on 14 August 1810, followed by six further children over
the next 20 years.
Wesley's abandonment of his wife and family for his teenage servant
Iviii

was naturally a great scandal. Divorce was not a practical possibility at this
tifne for any but the wealthy, and Wesley and Charlotte thus had no option but
to remained married. As Charlotte outlived him, Wesley's relationship with
Sarah Suter remained irregular until the end, and all their children were
illegitimate. In 1812 time a Deed of Separation was drawn up which put the
separation on a formal basis and awarded Charlotte annual maintenance of
L130, an amount which probably represented around a third of Wesley's
income at the time. 33
Little is known about Sarah Suter, and she remains a ppculiarly
shadowy figure. In accordance with Wesley's compartmentalization of his life,
she is mentioned only rarely in the letters in this volume. Wesley's early
biographers, anxious to maintain propriety, make no mention of her and the
twenty-seven years that she and Wesley lived together, even though their
relationship must have been common knowledge. Almost the only
documentary evidence of her existence is a series of forty-two letters that
Wesley wrote to her over a period of twenty years between 1810 and 1830
and which now forms part of the collection of family manuscripts, letters, and
papers bequeathed to the British Museum by Eliza in 1895.1 From these, it
is apparent that Wesley enjoyed a measure of domestic stability and
contentment with Sarah and their many children that had been lacking in his
marriage to Charlotte.
The incident of the Goldberg Variations performance marks the entry
of Vincent Novello into the correspondence and provides the first evidence of
his friendship with Wesley. Wesley may in fact have known Novello since a
lix

good deal earlier, but his absence from the letters until 1810 suggests that
Wesley's closer association with him did not begin until around this time.
From May 1811, Wesley's letters to Novello dominate the
correspondence. By this time, Wesley was acting as'Novello's assistant at the
Portuguese Embassy chapel, and in this capacity needed to be in frequent
contact with him to discuss arrangements for the chapel's music, particularly
on those occasions when Novello was absent and Wesley deputized for him.
This appears to have been how the correspondence began, and many of the
early letters are largely if not entirely concerned with one aspect or another
of the music of the chapel.
But Portuguese Embassy chapel matters account for only part of the
contents of the letters to Novello, which over the next five years contain a
host of details of Wesley's increasingly crowded life as a perfonner,
composer, concert organizer, reviewer for the European Magazine, and
teacher. -In addition, they chronicle the continuing story of Wesley's
promotion of Bach, often now with Novello as his partner in duet
performances of the organ music. Finally, they show Wesley's promotion of
his own music, both at his annual benefit concerts and at the Covent Garden
Lenten oratorio concerts, where he was organist from the beginning of the
1813 season.
This appointment immediately put Wesley at the heart of London's
concert world and gave him a markedly higher public profile. The period from
1813 to 1816 marked the peak of Wesley's career, when for the first time,
and in his mid-forties, he at last achieved a central position in London's
Ix

musical life. In addition he was busy making the social contacts, both within
and outside the profession, which were vital if his career was to prosper. In
May 1812 he had been appointed masonic Grand Organist, a position which
involved him in regular contact with many in the highest reaches of London
society. In June 1815 he was appointed to full membership of the recently
founded Philharmonic Society and in November of the same year became a
Director, subsequently playing a significant role in the affairs of the Society.
The letters of this period also show Wesley's involvement in music-
making outside London. For Wesley, as for most of his fellow-musicians in
the capital, London offered concert engagements for only part of the year.
After the main winter season and the series of self-promoted or benefit
concerts that followed it, the season petered out in June. But part of the off-
season period could be filled by concert engagements out of London,
principally on the provincial music festival circuit. Such festivals, in towns
and cities such as Norwich, Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool,
provided provincial audiences with their only opportunities to hear large-scale
choral and orchestral music performed by professional forces, mostly drawn
from London.
Wesley's first involvement with this world had been in 1809 in
Tarnworth, and he had subsequently been invited to direct the 1811
Binningharn festival. On both of these occasions he would have been engaged
by a local committee for a set fee and possibly a share of box-office takings.
But he also on occasion promoted his own concerts. A speculative visit in
September 1812 with Samuel Webbe II to Ramsgate and Margate on this basis
Ixi

narrowly escaped failure, largely because of a lack of local knowledge and
poor forward planning. " Wesley had happier experiences in East Anglia,
however, where a visit to the Ipswich festival in July 1813 at the invitation of
his old friend Charles Hague was followed by successful visits to Norwich in
1814, and to Norwich and Great Yarmouth in 1815.
SW's long run of success came to an end in August 1816. Early in the
month an infant child had died, just as he was preparing to go to Norwich for
a third concert visit. This event appears to have set in train a rapid
deterioration in his mental and physical health which eventually culminated in
a serious breakdown the following May.
Although Wesley managed to set off for Norwich, he collapsed on the
way and never arrived. The loss of the E100 that he was expecting from the
trip plunged him into a financial crisis which no doubt compounded his mental
problems. By early October, in an attempt to regain his health in the purer air
of what was still a country area, he had moved out of the family home into
lodgings in Hampstead. A few isolated letters from this time chart his decline
and his increasing reliance on Novello to deputize for him in his teaching.
In spite of everything, however, Wesley was for the moment still
continuing to work: he was able to fulfil his teaching commitments for most
of the time, and was at his usual place at the organ for the Covent Garden
Lenten oratorio concerts in February and March 1817. But his health was
evidently continuing its downward spiral. The crisis came on 6 May, when,
hnagining himself to be pursued by creditors set on him by Charlotte, he flung
himself from an upper-storey window. According to his sister Sarah"s account,
Ixii

written a few days later, the fall was `25 feet, upon stones', and his injuries
were so severe that he was given only hours to live. 36
Wesley's fall and subsequent incapacity turned what was already a
serious financial situation into a desperate one. He* was now completely out
of action for the foreseeable future, and he and his family - by this time
consisting of Sarah Suter, Samuel Sebastian and Rosalind, aged 2 or 3, - faced
the prospect of inunediate and total financial ruin.
It was at this point that William Linley and some of SW's other
musical and masonic friends stepped in. Their immediate priority was to cope
with the aftermath of the fall, but they soon also needed to consider how best
to manage what was evidently going to be a protracted period of illness and
convalescence. Eventually the decision was taken to place Wesley in
Blacklands House, Chelsea, a private lunatic asylum. He remained there until
late June 1818, when he was pronounced cured and discharged. "
Wesley wrote few letters during his illness, and the period from his
breakdown until his recovery around 1823 is particularly poorly documented.
Nonetheless, it is clear that by late 1818 he was attempting to pick up the
threads of his career. In a letter to Novello he enquired about the appropriate
level of payment for a copying job which William Hawes had asked him to
undertake, no doubt out of kindness
. 3' By the beginning of the 1819 season he
was back in action at the Covent darden oratorio concerts, his place during
the previous season having been taken by Jacob. But he was for the moment
only partly recovered, and for some time to come his spirits were low.
Wesley's breakdown had had a disastrous effect on his finances.
Ixiii

Arrangements painstakingly built up over a period of years were disrupted,
some never to return. In his absence, other musicians no doubt gladly stepped
into his shoes, and many of his pupils would have found other teachers. For
the next few years, Wesley would need to take work wherever he could find
it, however menial. Two affecting letters to Novello show him begging for
copying work of any sort, literary or musical39, one of them eliciting the
comment from Novello that he was placing it on record as
an eternal disgrace to the pretended Patrons of good music in
England, who could have the contemptible bad taste to
undervalue & neglect the masterly productions of such an
extraordinary Musician as Sam Wesley, and who had the paltry
meanness of spirit, to allow such a real Genius ... to sink into
such poverty, decay and undeserved neglect, as to be under the
necessity of seeking employment as a mere drudging Copyis
to prevent himself from starvation!
Notwithstanding letters such as these, the picture was not entirely
negative, and Wesley was gradually able to resume some of his former
activities and to take on some new ones. In June 1819 he applied to R. M.
Bacon, proprietor of the recently launched Quarterly Musical Magazine-and
Review, with an enquiry about work on the journal, ' and in October 1821,
amidst protestations of his lack of ability as a composer, he composed a Latin
Magnificat setting for a projected publication of Novello'S. 41 A different side
to his actiyities is shown in letters of 1822 to the wealthy Irish landowner
Walter McGeough concerning the arrangements of music that he was making
Ixiv

for the barrel organ that McGeough had commissioned for his new house in
Co. ArTnagh. "
Perhaps the clearest sign Of Wesley's return to health was his
composition of his Anglican Magnificat and Nunc, Dimittis in late 1822. These
two settings were companion-pieces to the Te Deum, and Jubilate that he had
written as long ago as 1808, and completed a full Anglican morning and
evening service. They were first performed at St Paul's on Christmas Day
1823, just as the Te Deurn and Jubilate had been on the same day fifteen years
earlier. No doubt as a result of favourable cornments received on this
occasion, Wesley decided early in 1824 to publish the full Service by
subscription. Proposals were issued in February, the Service received two
complete performances at St Paul's in April, and was published in October.
By the time of the publication of the Service, Wesley's recovery was
complete and he was once more playing an active part in London's musical
life. As before, he was making a living from a number of different activities,
of which performing and teaching were the most important. Some of his
former activities had disappeared, however, and the pattern of his employment
was now rather
different from before his illness.
One activity which did not survive Wesley's illness was his musical
journalism. It is one of the greatest ironies of Wesley's career that his illness
in 1817 had exactly coincided with the preparations for the launch, and the
launch itself, of the Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review CQMME),
Undon's first long-run music journal. Had Wesley been in good health during
this crucial period, his strong opinions, trenchant prose style, and existing
1xv

experience in musical journalism would no doubt have ensured him a role of
some sort in the new journal. In the event, by the time Wesley had sufficiently
recovered his health to be thinking about writing for QMM
, its organization
was well established and a team of contributors headed by William Horsley
was in place.
Another casualty of Wesley's illness was his involvement with the
Philhannonic Society. As we have seen, for a short time in 1815 and 1816
Wesley had played a prominent part in the Society's affairs in a way Which
suggests that he had become firmly established as a member of the most
influential group of musicians in London. His motet 'Father of Life' had been
performed at one of the Society's concerts in April 1816, and he was no doubt
looking forward both to further performances of his music and to his own
continuing participation as a perfonner and, on occasion, as the director. He
could also have been confident that the contacts with his fellow-directors
would be fruitful in other ways not directly connected to the Society. All of
this ceased with his breakdown. His membership appears to have lapsed at the
time of his illness, and he never subsequently rejoined. He performed at no
more of the Society's concerts, and no more of his music was included in its
progranunes.
In the absence of further information it is impossible to do more than
speculate on the reasons for the severing of relations with the Philharmonic
Society. In the years following his breakdown Wesley must have cut a sorry
figure, and it is possible that his fonner fellow-directors, always concerned
with respectability and the reputation of their fledgling organisation, would
1xvi

have been unenthusiastic about reinstating his lapsed membership, let alone
restoring him to his former position on the board. It is also possible that there
was a quarrel or a more general cooling of relations with the Society or with
some of its leading members.
Whatever the truth of the matter, Wesley's absence from the
Philharmonic Society and its concerts is indicative of a more general change
in his position in London's concert life. Before his illness he had been fully
involved in all the activities of a busy freelance musician: a hectic schedule
of oratorio and other concerts in London during the season, supplemented with
appearances at provincial music festivals and other out-of-town concerts
during the off-season. After his recovery, much of that involvement is
missing. Although he continued to play at the Covent Garden oratorio
concerts, he was now appearing increasingly as a solo recitalist rather than as
a soloist in choral and orchestral concerts. Perhaps in consequence of a
reluctance to undertake the necessary travelling, he was also undertaking
fewer engagements out of London, and he seems entirely to have given up his
involvement with the provincial music festival scene. Later in the decade, he
would once more venture out of London for concert engagements: to
Birmingham in May 1828, to Leeds in September of the same year, and
finally to his native Bristol in September 1829, but for the moment he appears
to have been content to remain close to home.
This change in direction may have been the result of a deliberate
choice. Wesley was always ambivalent about the music profession and his own
role in it and frequently scathing about his fellow-professionals. He may now
1xvii

have felt wearied with large-scale concerts and have decided to concentrate as
much as possible on solo recitals and lectures, where contact with other
musicians could be kept to a minimum. But other factors may also have
contributed. Wesley, always conservative by temperament, must have felt
increasingly out of place in the transformed London concert world of the
1820s, which featured music by a new generation of composers and the
extended visits of Rossini and Liszt in 1824 and of Weber in 1826. One looks
in vain in the letters for anything but brief and derogatory comments on these
composers and their music. It is clear that by the mid-1820s Wesley was no
longer making any attempt to keep up with modem developments.
One area in which a conservative outlook was no disadvantage was
Anglican church music, and it is not surprising to find Wesley turning his
attention once again to church appointments. As early as 1821 he had been an
unsuccessful candidate for the new parish church of St Pancras, and further
unsuccessful applications to St Lawrence, Jewry in January 1823 and to St
George's, Hanover Square in February 1824 followed. In May 1824, he was
appointed organist at Camden Chapel, a new church in the St Pancras parish.
This was by no means a prestigious appointment for one of Wesley's abilities,
and the salary of E63 per annu was not princely, but it was no doubt a
welcome addition to the family finances.
For the 1820s, as for earlier periods, Wesley's output of letters is a
good indicator of his general health and level of activity. The trickle of letters
of 1822 and 1823 increased dramatically in 1824, and by 1825 had reached
a spate comparable to the high points of the period immediately before his
1xviii

illness. As before, most were to Novello, and although the subject matter is
varied, two topics occur again and again: Wesley's reactions to reviews of his
Service, and the protracted negotiations with the University of Cambridge
over the granting of permission to publish music from the Fitzwilliam
collection. As Wesley's discussion of these matters occurs in a fragmentary
fashion over a number of letters and a considerable period of time, it may be
helpful to summarize the sequence of events here.
Wesley's Service was first reviewed in the January 1825 number of the
Harmonicon, following its publication the previous October. The anonymous
reviewer was on the whole respectful and deferential, acknowledging Wesley's
learning and distinction as a church musician, and commending the overall
high quality of the music. At the same time he permitted himself some
criticisms of infelicities in the harmony, commenting on one progression that
it included 'the chord of the 7th and 2nd in an extremely bare, crude, state,
and to our ears very cacophonous, though Dr. Blow might have enjoyed it
much. ' Wesley was outraged by these criticisms and immediately planned a
reply, to be published if possible in a future number of the Ha ionicon, or,
failing that, elsewhere. Perhaps surprisingly, he had no idea who had written
the review, although he quickly discovered that Thomas Ayrton, Thomas
Attwood, and William Crotch were considered to be the most likely authors.
421
By 27 January he had finished his reply and was ready to submit it to the
Harmonicon, although with no great confidence that it would be printed.
When in time the Harmonicon declined to publish it, Wesley discussed with
Novello the possibility of placing his reply in a number of other journals,
lxix

including the Examiner, the Gentleman's Magazine, and, eventually, the News
of Literature and Fashion. None of these negotiations came to anything.
Even as Wesley was still attempting to secure a reply to the
Harmonico review, the Service received its second'review, in QMM
.
44
7be
new review was three times the length of the earlier one, and far more
detailed in its comments. It was also, after its initial courtesies, decidedly
more hostile, containing many detailed criticisms of specific points of
harmony in a manner very close to that practised by Wesley himself in his
European Magazine reviews. Although Wesley seems not to have known who
had written it, his enquiries soon revealed that it was generally thought to be
by Horsley, and Wesley accordingly wrote an 'inquisitorial line' to him on the
subject in late April. ' Unsurprisingly, Horsley denied any involvement, but
Wesley by now had few doubts that he was the author, and Horsley's reply
did nothing to persuade him otherwise. ' In fact, given Horsley's position as
Bacon's leading associate on OMMR and its chief reviewer of church music,
his authorship of the review cannot ever have been seriously in doubt to
anyone familiar with the journal's organization.
Even after the appearance of the OMMR review, Wesley still tried to
find a publication which would be prepared to print his reply to the original
Harmonicon review. Despite the growing staleness of the topic, he was
eventually successful, and his article eventually appeared in the Litermy
Chronicle -in
June. It was presumably its polemical tone and panache rather
than the precise details of its content that secured its appearance, for the
Literary Chronicle did not generally include articles on music, and five
lxx

months on from the original review the matter must have lost any topical
interest it ever have had for the journal's readership.
Meanwhile, Wesley was seeking to gain separate redress for the
injustices done to his reputation in QMMR. As withthe Hannonicon, his first
attempt was to try to have a reply published in QMM
itself, and to this end
he wrote to Bacon in August 1825. "' Following Bacon's refusal to comply
with his demands, Wesley turned to Novello's friend (and future son-in-law)
Charles Cowden Clarke, claiming that Clarke was 'the only man to give my
paper to the world' and hoping that Clarke's contacts in the world of
periodical journalism would help to find it a home. "" Clarke seems to have
used his good offices on Wesley's behalf with Henry Southern, the editor of
the London Magazine, and for a while Wesley was confident that his article
would appear in the November number. All, however, came to nothing, ", and
it was at this point, almost eleven months after the appearance of the
Harmonico review, that Wesley tacitly admitted defeat and allowed the
matter to drop.
Wesley was also involved in smaller and less complicated publishing
ventures throughout the 1820s, much as he had been before his illness. Most
of these publications, which included a number of organ voluntaries, involved
the outright sale of the copyright to the publisher, thus avoiding the capital
investment and risk involved with self-publication.
Perhaps emboldened by his experiences with the Service - or at any
rate, aware of the healthy profits that could be made from such ventures -
Wesley was soon considering plans for future publications. A further possible
lxxi

opportunity almost immediately presented itself. In December 1824 the
University of Cambridge had set up a syndicate to consider how parts of the
important collection of music manuscripts bequeathed to the University in
1816 by Lord Fitzwilliam. might be published. Following an invitation from
the University to catalogue and examine the collection and recommend
possible schemes of publication, Novello visited Cambridge in late December
1824 and early January 1825 and duly submitted his catalogue and report. 10
The Senate considered these on 18 March and immediately granted a Grace
which gave Novello permission to publish any parts of the collection that he
should think fit, but at his own expense and at his own risk. Novello made at
least one further visit to Cambridge in the course of the year to work on the
publication, and the first part of his five-volume selection, consisting entirely
of sacred choral music by Italian composers of the sixteenth to eighteenth
centuries, was published as The Fitzwilliam Music in December 1825 or
January 1826.11
It must have quickly become apparent to Novello as he examined and
catalogued the Fitzwilliam collection that it contained material for more than
one selection, and it was not long before Wesley was enquiring whether the
University would consider granting him permission to publish his own.
Wesley's initial enquiries appear to have been made in late April or early May
1825 through the Hebrew scholar Daniel Guilford Wait, at this time in
Cambridge cataloguing the oriental manuscripts in the University Library;
how he and Wesley had come to know each other is not known. The matter
needed careful handling in the light of Novello's continuing work on his own
lxxii

selection, and Wesley was anxious to avoid any appearance of
underhandedness. As can be seen in the letters of 1825, he consulted with
Novello at every stage of the negotiations and kept him fully in touch with
their progress. An early stage in the negotiations is'marked by a letter of 11
May from Wait, in which he reported that he had discussed the matter with
Thomas Le Blanc, the Vice Chancellor. Le Blanc had given his opinion that
the Senate would be likely to grant Wesley the necessary permission, but not
until Novello had completed his own selection; " he had also advised that
Novello should provide Wesley with a letter of recommendation, making it
clear that he was aware of and had no objections to Wesley's plans.
This was the background to Wesley's visit to Cambridge in June 1825.
Although he had not as yet been granted formal permission to publish by the
University, Wesley was confident that it would eventually be forthcoming, and
was evidently already making a start on his transcriptions. It was important
that his work did not duplicate that of Novello, and accordingly he wrote to
Novello to ask for a list of all the pieces that Novello was intending to
publish, and a confirmation that he was not proposing to include any music
by Paradies or Scarlatti. 11 As is clear from a letter to his son Samuel
Sebastian, Wesley was similarly occupied on a second visit to Cambridge in
late July and early August, and was already anticipating a healthy financial
return from his activities. 54
Although Wesley's preoccupation with the critical reception of the
Service in F and his negotiations with the Cambridge authorities over the
publication of the Fitzwilliam music loom largest in the letters of 1825, these
lxxiii

were far from being the only matters concerning him. In terms of organ
playing, he was as busy as he had ever been. In February and March he was
involved once more as organist in the Covent Garden 1xnten oratorio
concerts, and he now also had a regular Sunday'commitment at Camden
Chapel. At the same time, as we know from a letter to Mary Ann Russell, he
was making piano reductions for music published by the Royal Harmonic
Institution, and thus too busy to have any part in performing the same task for
her proposed edition of her late husband's oratorio Job. 55 Less than a month
later, however, presumably after her failure to find others prepared to carry
it out, he agreed to take on the arrangement single-handed. "' Meanwhile,
Wesley's financial and personal problems continued. On 7 May Charlotte had
him arrested and briefly imprisoned in a debtors' prison, doubtless for non-
payment of maintenance. It is a mark of Wesley's recovered health that he
seems to have viewed this evidently distressing experience as no more than a
57
temporary nuisance.
The Fitzwilliam project was not the only large-scale publishing venture
that Wesley was pursuing during the summer of 1825: he was also thinking
about the possibility of publishing the still unperformed Confitebor. He had
already remarked to Novello that it was the 'least imperfect' of his
compositions, and the one which might have a chance of success if
%
published; 58 he was now proposing to take the matter further.
The lack of performance of the Kjo Ln Litebor was a major stumbling
block to its successful publication, as few people would be prepared to
subscribe for a piece they had not heard, no matter how glowingly it was
lxxiv

presented in the prospectus. Accordingly, during his Cambridge visit Wesley
arranged a performance with Novello in a four-hands arrangement on the
organ of Trinity College chapel before an invited audience. This was an
experiment, designed to allow him to gauge public response without financial
risk, and to help him make up his mind about the likely success of a
subsequent full-scale performance in London, to be followed in due course by
publication if there were sufficient demand. As Wesley was able to report to
Samuel Sebastian, the response was encouraging, and several subscriptions
appeared to be assured from among the audience. " On his return to London,
he arranged to- have a paragraph written by himself inserted in The Examiner
describing the Cambridge performance and its enthusiastic reception, and
announcing that the Confitebor would be perfonned in the following year's
Lenten oratorio season.
Wesley's more immediate thoughts, however, were on his projected
publication of selections from the Fitzwilliam collection. During the summer,
as we have seen, he had been sufficiently confident that permission to publish
would be forthcoming to make a start on his own transcriptions. In
September, however, he received news from Wait of complications which
threatened the granting of the Grace. In the absence of the relevant letter from
Wait and other crucial parts of the correspondence it is impossible to establish
the full details of what was evidently a complex situation. It appears,
however, that some members of the Senate were concerned about the apparent
clash of interest between Wesley and Novello, and were unhappy about
granting Wesley permission to publish a selection which might appear to be
lxxv

in competition with Novello's own. Faced with the threat of such a major
upset to his plans and the prospect of the transcriptions he had already made
going to waste, Wesley contemplated writing directly to the Vice Chancellor
to put his case. It is not known if he did in fact do so, and if be did, what
effect his letter had. In a later attempt to resolve the situation, Wesley wrote
to ask Novello if he would be prepared to state that his intention was to
publish music only from Italian composers, and that he was happy for others
to publish selections from composers of other schools. Such a declaration
would make it clear that Wesley's publication was not in any way in
competition with Novello's. Whether this suggestion came from Wesley
himself or from the University authorities, Novello acceded to it, and included
a statement along the lines suggested by Wesley in his Preface to the
Fitzwilliam Music.
Novello's declaration appears to have had the desired effect, and
Wesley was duly granted his Grace by the Senate on I March 1826. But the
agreement may not have represented what either Novello or Wesley had
originally intended. Novello may originally have had long-term plans to
publish music by English or German composers which he was now not able
to carry out; in particular, he may have hoped to explore some of the riches
of the collection's Handel manuscripts. Conversely, Wesley may have
originally been intending to publish music by Italian composers. In the
summer of 1825, as we have seen, he had music by Paradies and Scarlatti in
his sights, and he may have spent time in the summer transcribing music by
these and other Italian composers. If this was the case, all this work was now
lxxvi

endered useless.
It has been plausibly suggested that the Fitzwilliam affair caused a rift
between Wesley and Novello. It certainly marked the end of their
correspondence, which ceases abruptly at the end of 1825. That such a rift
may have occurred is suggested by a letter from a correspondent signing
himself 'Jubal' in the June 1826 number of the Harmonicon. By this time,
Wesley had issued proposals for his own Fitzwilliam Music, and 'Jubal' felt
it incumbent on him to draw some aspects of the situation to the attention of
the readers of the Harmonicon. He found it strange that Wesley should be
intending to publish a selection of music from the Fitzwilliarn collection so
soon after Novello's own, and insinuated that this behaviour was a betrayal
of Novello's friendship and generosity in introducing him to the Fitzwilliam
collection in the first place. As can be seen from Wesley's letters of 1825,
Jubal's grasp of the situation was imperfect and his accusations of treachery
were unfounded and malicious; nonetheless, his letter would have been
sufficiently plausible to have been believed by those disposed to think badly
of Wesley, especially if it was known that there had been some sort of quarrel
or cooling of relations as a result of the Fitzwilliam affair.
No copies of Wesley's proposals have survived, but it is clear that the
intended first volume was to have been an edition of fifteen antiphons from
Byrd's -Gradualia,
which Wesley had transcribed from an l8th-century score
in the Fitzwilliam collection. The Byrd publication never appeared, for
reasons explained by Wesley over four years later in a long and revealing
letter to Joseph Payne Street: despite a lively interest in the publication and
lxxvii

a healthy subscription list of over two hundred names which would have
guaranteed a profit on the venture, and the completion of nine of the plates,
Wesley was unable to find sufficient money to pay his engraver for the
remainder of the work. '
Wesley did not go into details in his letter to Street about the nature
and cause of his financial problems. It is apparent from family letters,
however, that in the summer of 1826 he was being particularly hard pressed
by his creditors, while at the same time himself being owed money from a
number of quarters. His first priority was to cast around for short-term loans
to avert the threat of inmediate imprisomnent for debt. Under these
circumstances, finding additional money to pay his engraver would have been
out of the question, and the project was accordingly shelved.
Part of the reason for Wesley's financial problems may have been the
expenses incurred in his Confitebor perforinance, which had finally taken
place on 4 May, the projected perfonnance as part of the Covent Garden
Lenten oratorio season having failed to materialize. Despite the involvement
of singers of the calibre of Mary Ann Paton and Henry Phillips, at presumably
heavy expense, the Confitebor appears to have aroused little interest or
subsequent comment in the press beyond a brief paragraph in the Harmonicon,
and Wesley seems for the moment to have abandoned his plans to publish it.
In September 1826, with financial crises held for the moment at bay,
Wesley was able to make a further visit to Cambridge to continue his
examination of the Fitzwilliam manuscripts. He had now turned his attention
to the extensive collection of Handel autographs, and was confident that
lxxviii

everything he was transcribing was unpublished and would 'therefore prove
an entire novelty'. " His most profitable find on this visit was completely
unexpected: a single sheet of Handel's autograph containing three tunes by
Handel to well-known hymns by his father. This link between Charles Wesley
and Handel was hitherto unknown, and Wesley correctly saw that the hymns
would be of great interest, especially to Methodists. Moreover, as the hymns
were already familiar to Methodist congregations, the newly discovered
Handel tunes could be put to immediate use in Methodist chapels. Publication
of the hymns could be done cheaply, quickly, and easily, and there was every
likelihood of large sales.
Wesley was sufficiently confident of the commercial possibilities of the
hymns to have the hymns engraved even before sounding out his few contacts
in the Methodist community. His first approach was to Elizabeth Tooth, a
close friend of his brother and sister and a member of a prominent Methodist
family whose links with the Wesleys went back to previous generation. A
week later, probably at Tooth's suggestion, he also wrote to the Revd Thomas
Jackson, the Methodist Connexional Editor and editor of the Wesleya
Methodist Magazine. This letter, although apparently not
intended by Wesley
for publication, conveniently set out the background to the hymns and was
included by Jackson in the December number of the Weslgjan Methodis
Magazine. It must have done much to publicize Wesley's edition, which
appeared by the end of November.
This was in fact the first of two editions by Wesley of the hymns.
Containing only a title page and three pages of music, it would have cost little
lxxix

to produce, and the high price of 1s. 6d would have ensured good profits. But
the format, consisting only of the melody and bass and the words of the first
verse of each hymn, was not as useftil as it might have been. At the
suggestion of friends Wesley prepared a second edition, this time containing
a four-part hannonization of the tunes and the words of all the verses. Ilis
appeared in March 1827.
One consequence of Wesley's contact with Jackson over the Handel
hymns was an opening up of relations with the Methodist congregation at City
Road Chapel. For most of his adult life, Wesley had had no dealings with
Methodism, and his links with Roman Catholicism and his irregular private
life had for long made him an embarrassment in Methodist circles. With the
publication of the Handel hymns, however, came friendly overtures from the
Methodists, leading to an invitation to attend the annual breakfast for the
children of the Methodist preachers there on 3 May. ' It was probably through
the same process that Wesley was invited to open the organ at Brunswick
Chapel, Leeds, in September 1828.1
The success of the Handel hymns and the establishment of friendly
relations with Jackson also prompted Wesley to turn his attention to other
ways in which he could make the most of his name and family background.
One obvious option was to compose tunes of his own for the hymns currently
in use in Methodist congregations. As with the Handel Hymns, Wesley moved
quickly: less than a month after a first exploratory letter to Jackson in late
April 1828, he was writing again to announce that he had composed the tunes
and to offer the copyright to the Book Room Committee. " As the Book Room
lxxx

minutes reveal, this proposal was turned down, and Wesley proceeded to
publish at his own expense: a more risky, but a potentially more profitable
course of action. The Original Hymn Tunes. adapted to cvely-Metre in the
collection by the Rev. John Wesley were published by late Auguso, and
received a glowing review in the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine in October,
where the writer hoped that the publication would obtain a large share of the
public attention, 'a distinction to which it is justly entitled. 66
After the cessation of the letters to Novello at the end of 1825, it
becomes more difficult to chart Wesley's activities in any detail. As we have
seen, some letters of 1825 and 1826 document his publishing ventures; others
of the period concern arrangements for various lecture courses in early 1828.
At the same time, family letters reveal a partial rapprochement with his
brother and sister, occasioned perhaps by Sarah's declining health. After
Sarah's death in September 1828, however, information from family letters
largely disappears too. As his surviving letters show, Charles Wesley junior
had little taste or aptitude for correspondence. Wesley's contacts with
him had
never been extensive, and after Sarah's death appear to have been almost non-
existent.
The final events in Wesley's public career took him back to his native
Bristol. In September and October 1829 he gave a number of organ recitals
there, including three at St Mary Redcliffe, the parish church, when he was
joined by Samuel Sebastian, now aged 19 and at the beginning of his own
career. Wesley's powers were evidently still undiminished. The local organist
Edward Hodges ecstatically described his playing as
lxxxi

the most wonderful I ever heard, more even than I had before
been capable of conceiving; the flow of melody, the stream of
harmony, was so complete, so unbroken, so easy, and yet so
highly wrought and so superbly scientific, that I was altogether
knocked off my stilts ....
I walked home afterwards, but my
head was full of naught but Samuel Wesley and his seraphic
genius ....
He is the Prince of Musicians and Emperor of
as 67
organis .
In the following January Wesley returned to give a course of lectures
at the Bristol Institution. Both this and the earlier visit were probably arranged
through Wait, who in addition to his Cambridge connections was curate of
Blagdon, near Bristol. The second also involved Hodges, at whose house
Wesley stayed during part of his visit.
In the summer of 1830 Wesley was incapacitated by another severe
attack of depression. A subscription was arranged by a group of his musical
68
and masonic friends led by John Capel, MP, Linley, and Novello, which no
doubt helped to alleviate the inevitable financial hardship for Wesley and his
family. By now,
Samuel Sebastian was approaching 20 and had probably left
home, but there were still five children to be supported: Rosalind, aged
around 16, Eliza (11), Matthias Erasmus (9), John (5), and Thomasine (1); in
addition, Sarah Suter was pregnant with another child. 69
Although depression seems to have affected Wesley for some of the
thne during his final years, he appears to have continued to teach, to
compose, and to publish. There are even a few signs of him attempting to
lxxxii

eturn to public performance. In March 1834 he wrote to suggest himself as
a director of one of the concerts of the Handel Commemoration, to be held
at Westminster Abbey in the June of that year. Whether or not this was a
proposal that he expected to be taken seriously, he Was not appointed. His last
public appearance was in August 1834 at a Sacred Hannonic Society concert,
when he accompanied a performance of his anthem 'All go unto one Place',
written for the memorial service for Charles, who had died earlier in the year.
Little is known of how Wesley and his family managed financially
during his final years: with extreme difficulty, on the evidence of the letters
to Thomas Jackson which are among the last in this volume. Wesley had
renewed his contacts with Jackson following the death of his brother, when
the annuity granted to his mother by the Methodist Book Room in respect of
the copyright of his father's hymns descended to him as the last surviving
member of the family. As the Secretary of the Book Room, it was Jackson's
responsibility to make the small weekly payments.
By 1836, perhaps at the suggestion or with the encouragement of Sarah
Suter and their children, Wesley wrote his manuscript Reminiscences, in
which he recorded on scraps of paper all he could remember of his life in
music. Although containing much of interest, the Reminiscences are anodyne
in style and completely lack the outspokenness and sardonic wit of the letters,
while the laboriousness of the handwriting and the frequent repetitions show
all too clearly how much Wesley"s physical and mental powers had declined.
The same manuscript also contains passages of historical writing, clearly
written with publication in mind and relating to Wesley's last piece of
lxxxiii

published work, an article entitled 'A Sketch of the State of Music in England,
ftom the year 1778 up to the Present Time', which appeared in the first
number of The Musical World on 18 March 1836. In fact the article only
covered the period up to around 1800, and was intended to be continued in a
subsequent number. The second instalment never appeared, however, possibly
because of factual errors and other inadequacies in the first, or because of
Wesley's imbility to provide a satisfactory sequel. 70
Wesley appears to have had a remarkable recovery of health shortly
before his death. In July 1837 he wrote out from memory the full score of his
Ode on St Cecilia's Day of 1794, which he believed to have been lost. On 12
September he was taken by Eliza and Rosalind to Mendelssohn's recital at
Christ Church, Newgate Street. Afterwards, as Mendelssohn recorded:
Old Wesley, trembling and bent, shook hands with me and at
my request sat down at the organ bench to play, a thing he had
not done for many years. The frail old man improvised with
great artistry and splendid facility, so that I could not but
admire. His daughter [Eliza] was so moved by the sight of it
all that she fainted and could not stop crying and sobbing. She
believed she would certainly never hear him play like that
again; and alas, shortly after my return to Germany I learned
71
of his death.
This was -the last time that Wesley left his house. He died on 11
October after a short illness and was buried on 17 October at Marylebone
parish church, where his father, mother, and brother were also interred. The
lxxxiv

service was attended by many of the leading figures in the London church
music and organ world, including a large body of singers who sang the music
of the burial service to settings by Purcell and Croft, concluding with 'His
body is buried in peace, but his name liveth for evermore' the words adapted
from Handel's Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline. Directing the proceedings
was James Turle, organist of Westminster Abbey and a former chorister at the
Portuguese Embassy chapel under Wesley and Novello. "I
1. Charles Wesley senior's account of the musical talents of his two sons, as given to
Daines Barrington, was included in Barrington's Miscellanies (London, 1781), 291-
310, and forms the basis for much of the following paragraphs.
2. Rylands, DDCW 6/93Q.
3. See Philip Olleson, 'The Wesleys at Home: Charles Wesley and his Children',
Methodist Histo ,
36 (1998), 139-52.
4. See Simon McVeigh, Concert Life in London from Mozart to Havd (Cambridge,
1993), 199-201; Deborah Rohr, 'A Profession of Artisans: The Careers and Social
Status of British Musicians, 1750-1850', Ph. D. diss., University of Pennsylvania,
1983.
5. Rylands, DDWES 14/65, quoted in Lightwood, 51-52.
6. Obituary in The Times 12 Oct. 1837.
7. SW to Jacob, 5 Nov. [1809].
8. Sarah Wesley to SW, 27 May 1791 (Emory).
9. SW to Sarah Wesley, 5 June [1791] (Fitzwilliam).
10. SW to Sarah Gwynne Wesley, 7 Nov. 1792 (Rylands, DDWF 15/5).
11. SW to [Sarah Wesley], [22 Aug. 1793] (Rylands, DDWF 15/6), selectively quoted
in Lightwood, 84.
12. Sarah Wesley, 'Mercies of the Year 1794', entry for 18 Jan. 1794 (Emory).
lxxxv

13. SW to Sarah Wesley, 26 Oct. 1794 (Emory).
14. SW to Sarah Wesley, [81 July 1795 (Fitzwilliam).
15. SW to Kenton, 18 Jan. 1797, typescript copy (private collection); location of original
unknown.
16. Charlotte Wesley to Sarah Wesley. undated [1795-7? 1 (Drew).
17. SW to Burney, [Feb. -May 18021.
18. Mary Freeman Shepherd to Sarah Wesley, 15 Jan. 1806 (Rylands).
19. SW to Sarah Gwynne Wesley, 21 Apr. [ 1806] (BL, Add. MS 35012, L 11).
20. SW to Sarah Gwynne Wesley, 15 Jan. 1807 (BL, Add. MS 35012, L 15).
21. SW to Graeff, 21 May [1806?].
22. Quoted in SW to Burney, 23 June [1808].
23. SW to Burney, 7 July 1808.
24. SW to [Jacob], 13 Aug. [18081.
25. SW to Jacob, 17 Sept. 1808.
26. SW to Jacob, 17 Oct. 1808.
27. SW to Jacob, 3 March 1809.
28. SW to Jacob, 25 September 1809.
29. SW to [C. F. Horn? ], c. 30 Sept. 1809.
30. SW to Jacob, [24 November 1809].
31. SW to Jacob, 4 Sept. [1809] and [30 Sept. 1809? 1.
32. SW to Burney, 17 July 1810.
33. Rylands, DDCW 6/88. For private separation at this time, see Lawrence Stone, Road
to Divorce (Oxford, 1990), 149-82.
34. BL, Add. MS 35012.
35. SW to Novello, 1 Oct. [18121.
36. Sarah Wesley to William Wilberforce, [q. 12 May 1817] (Emory); see also Sarah's
diary entry for 6 May 1817, quoted in Lightwood, 183.
37. Charles Wesley's pocket book, 25 June 1818 (Dorset Record Office): see Betty
lxxxvi

Matthews, 'Charles Wesley on Organs: 21, MT, 112 (1971), 1111-12.
38. SW to Novello, 17 Nov. [1818? ].
39. SW to Novello, 20 Nov. [18201,27 Nov. 1821.
40. SW to Bacon, 5 June 1819.
41. SW to Novello, 2 Oct. [1821], 9 Oct. 1821.
42. SW to McGeough, 12 Oct. 1822,11 Nov. 1822.
43. SW to Novello, 27 Jan. [1825].
44. OMMR, 7 (1825), 95-101.
45. SW to Novello, [27 Apr. 1825].
46. Ibid.
47. Not preserved, but see SW to Novello, [12 Aug. 1825] and [19 Aug. 1825).
48. SW to Novello, 31 Aug. 1825.
49. SW to Novello, 23 Nov. 1825.
50. Novello to Thomas Le Blanc, 27 Jan. 1825 (Cambridge). The catalogue is not
preserved.
51. Preface dated Dec. 1825; reviewed Harmonico , Feb. 1826. Subsequent parts
appeared at intervals through 1826 and early 1827.
52. Wait to SW, 11 May 1825 (BL, Add. MS 11729, f. 258): see SW to Novello, 15
May [1825], n. 2.
53. SW to Novello, 21 June 1825.
54. SW to Samuel Sebastian Wesley, I Aug. 1825.
55. SW to Mary Ann Russell, 16 April 1825.
56. SW to Novello, 10 May [18251.
57. Ibid.
58. SW to Novello, 9 Oct. 1821.
59. SW to Samuel Sebastian Wesley, I Aug. ' 1825.
60. SW to Street, 25 May 1830.
61. SW to Sarah Suter, [13 Sept. 1826] (BL, Add. MS 35012, f. 61).
lxxxvii

62. SW to Sarah Wesley, 29 Apr. 1827 (Fitzwilliam); SW to Charles Wesley jun., [4
May 1827] (Fitzwilliam).
63. SW to Sarah Suter, [10 Sept. 1828] and 13 Sept. [1828] (BL, Add. MS 35012, ff.
50 and 73).
64. SW to Jackson, 21 Apr. 1828 and 17 May 1828 (Rylands, DDWes 6/31 and 6/32).
65. SW to Upcott, 20 Aug. [18281.
66. Quoted in Lightwood, 211.
67. Quoted in Lightwood, 215.
68. For the text of the printed circular, see Lightwood, 219-20.
69. Robert Glenn Wesley, born 21 November 1830.
70. Olleson, 1111.
71. Diary entry for 11-12 Sept 1837: see Peter Ward Jones (trans. and ed. ), The
Mendelssohns on Honeymoon: The 1837 Diary of Felix and Mile
Mendelssohn
Bartholdy together with Letters to their Families (Oxford, 1997), 103.
72. The Times, 18 Oct. 1837.
lxxxviii

TEXTUAL MRODUCTION
The Manuscripts and their Provenance
The survival of any corpus of letters depends on a combination of
factors, amongst which are the fame of the writer, the presence of family
members or others with strong preserving habits, and pure chance. In the case
of Wesley's letters, an unusually large number of which has survived, we
have principally to thank three individuals - Wesley's elder sister Sarah, his
daughter Eliza, and his friend and colleague Vincent Novello. Also involved
were the family connection with Methodism, the highly distinctive character
of Wesley's handwriting, and his attractive literary style, all of which made
his letters eminently collectable.
Wesley's sister Sarah was responsible for
the amassing and
preservation of an extremely large collection of letters of her father, mother,
and other members of the family, including many family letters to and from
Wesley himself. After her death the full collection was sold to the Book Room
attached to the Methodist chapel in City Road, London, where it was over the
years augmented by similar materials from other members of the family and
from others. At a later stage some of the collection was dispersed. Today, its
two largest portions are to be found in the Methodist Archives and Research
Centre at the John Rylands University Library of Manchester (where it moved
from City Road in 1977), and at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. Further
letters by Wesley identifiable as having originally fonned part of this
collection can be found in a number of other libraries, including the
lxxxix

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and in private collections.
Eliza, Wesley's second daughter by Sarah Suter, did much after his
death to keep his memory alive and promote his music. Like her aunt, but for
rather different reasons, she was assiduous in preserving family letters and
other memorabilia, and was responsible for the collection of letters to her
mother and to other members of Wesley's second family which she
bequeathed to the British Library along with large quantities of autograph
manuscripts of her father's music.
As Wesley's closest professional colleague and friend over a long
period, Vincent Novello was the recipient of a large number of letters from
Wesley between 1811 and 1825. Many, particularly the most ephemeral, must
have been discarded, but in 1840 he donated over 170 letters to the British
Museum, describing them in his covering letter as all he could at that time
find, and continuing:
As these curious specimens of Mr Samuel Wesley's singular
talent for the more familiar and quaintly humorous style of
letter-writing may probably be considered very acceptable and
interesting to some iuture musical historian, Mr Novello is
desirous of confiding them to the safe custody of the Museum
to preserve them in such manner as to render them easily
accessible to those of his brother Professors who may wish to
consult them for the purpose of ascertaining what were the
exact opinions of so superior a musical Genius, upon various
subjects connected with English Composers, Performers and
xe

Musicians in general, during the latter part of Mr S. Wesley's
career.
The only stipulation which Novello makes in
presenting these original Mss to the British Museum is that
nothing shall be published from them of 6 personal nature,
during the Lifetime of any of the individuals relative to whom
Mr S. Wesley has expressed any opinion in the course of the
correspondence. '
Among other smaller collections of letters are those to Benjamin Jacob,
largely on the subject of the introduction of J. S. Bach's music into England
(the Bach Letters). Published in an edition by Eliza in 1875, they have long
been familiar to students of the English Bach Movement; the originals are now
at the Royal College of Music. Other small groups of letters in separate
collections at the British Library are those to Joseph Payne Street and to
Augustus Polgreen Bridgetower.
Very few letters to Wesley have survived, and it is clear that he made
no attempt to preserve his routine social and professional correspondence. On
the other hand, a considerable number of letters to him from his father,
mother, brother, and sister are contained in the collection amassed by Sarah,
and it appears that Wesley not only preserved this correspondence but later
retumed it to Sarah at her request.
Publication History
Only a small proportion of Wesley's surviving letters has been
published. A few, taken from the still complete collection at City Road, were
Xci

included in the first extended biographical account of Wesley, which appeared
anonymously in four numbers of Wesley Banner and Revival Record for
1851.2 Many of these subsequently appeared in the chapter on Wesley in
Stevenson's Memorials-of the Wesley Famil (1876), the exceptionally close
similarity with the Wesley-Banner account suggesting that Stevenson had
written this too. Meanwhile, in April 1875 the letters to Jacob had appeared
at auction and had been acquired by Novello's. Little more than a month later,
individual letters began to appear in Concordia, a short-lived weekly Novello
publication edited by Joseph Bennett (1831-1911). At the same time, Eliza was
losing no time in preparing her edition, which appeared later in the year,
probably at some time in the summer.
The publication of the Bach Letters appears to have triggered a renewal
of interest in Wesley and his music, much of it instigated by Eliza; other later
advocates were F. G. Edwards (1853-1909), editor of the Musical Times, and
W. Barclay Squire (1855-1927), librarian of the printed music collections of
the British Museum. A further landmark came in 1894 with James Higgs's
paper to the Musical Association. ' Written with the assistance of Eliza, who
was present at the meeting, it drew its material not only from previously
published accounts and the letters to Novello, but also from Wesley's
manuscript lectures and from his letters and his Reminiscences, which Eliza
had made available to him.
Another important stage in Wesley biography, if not in the actual
publication of the letters, was marked by the appearance in 1899 of Edwards's
contribution on Wesley in DNB. By this time, Eliza had died and had
xcii

equeathed all the manuscripts relating to her father to the British Museum.
Included were the family letters to her mother and other members of Wesley's
second family. For wholly understandable reasons of tact and propriety, Sarah
Suter's role as Wesley's partner over a period of t-krity-seven years and the
mother of seven children who had survived to adulthood had been omitted
from all biographical accounts, apart from a very oblique mention in
Memorials of the Wesley Family. 1 By now, however, Wesley's letters to
Sarah were publicly available, and Squire felt himself able to include the bare
statementhat Wesley had formed a relationship with her 'around 1809', and
that he had several children by her, including Samuel Sebastian and Eliza.
Subsequent interest in Wesley's letters has been small. In 1917 Squire
published a small selection of Wesley's letters to Novello and others in
Musical Quarterly article, ' but no attempt was made to publish a larger
selection of these or any other of Wesley's letters, lying readily available and
in great abundance in the British Museum and at the Methodist archives in
City Road. James T. Lightwood drew upon some of hitherto unpublished
letters, including some of those to Sarah Suter, in his Samuel Wesley.
Musician (1937), thus providing for the first time in print a full
acknowledgement of her position in Wesley's life. Since then, some ftirther
letters have been quoted in studies of various aspects of Wesley's music.
xciii

Editorial Method
(a) The basis of selection
Within its terms of reference, this edition alims at completeness: that
is, it includes all known letters by Wesley to correspondents outside his
immediate family, from 1799 to 1837, irrespective of their subject matter. A
letter is understood as a communication written to a private recipient or
recipients; accordingly, letters written for publication, whether as letters to the
press and journals, or as epistles dedicatory, are not included.
Wherever possible, the original text or a photocopy or microfilm has
been consulted. Printed sources have been used where the present location of
the original is not known or where it was not available for consultation.
Letters known only from their descriptions in sale catalogues are also
included, with a summary of their contents.
Some letters to family members are also included where the subject
matter is entirely or predominantly music. One such
is Wesley's long letter
to his brother Charles of 15 January 1807, in which Wesley addresses Charles
as much as a fellow-professional as a brother. To omit this letter (the longest
in this volume) on the grounds that it is to a family member would be
perverse. Other letters not included in this edition but containing important
references to music are cited, and where appropriate, selectively quoted, in
the annotations.
The concentration on the non-family letters, and thus broadly speaking
on Wesley's professional and social life, has inevitably led to the exclusion of
xciv

most of Wesley's most intimate and revealing correspondence. The letters in
this volume offer comparatively few insights into his relationships and
dealings with his mother, brother, and sister, his wife Charlotte, with Sarah
Suter, and his children by both Charlotte and Sarah. 'Mis side of Wesley's life
will, I hope, be revealed in time by a second, parallel edition of family letters,
forming the second part of his complete correspondence. In the meantime, I
have attempted in the Biographical Introduction to set the letters of the present
volume in the total context of Wesley's life.
(b) Editorial Conventions
Each letter is headed by the name of the recipient, the place of writing,
and the date. Names of recipients, dates, and places supplied by the editor are
enclosed in square brackets. This is followed by a description of the letter:
ALS (autograph letter, signed); AL (autograph letter, not signed); ANS
(autograph note, signed); AN (autograph note, not signed); L (neither
autograph nor signed); followed by its number of pages and its location.
Manuscript and folio numbers have been included where this aids
identification. Where appropriate, a note gives the condition of the letter:
whether incomplete, damaged, or mounted. There then follows a transcription
of the address panel (if any), together with any postmarks, docketings, and
endorsements. Where the identity of the recipient is not specifically stated in
the letter or its address portion, a note gives the reason for the identification.
For undated or incompletely dated letters, a note gives the dating reason, as
derived from the addresses of Wesley and/or the recipient, any postmarks or
xcv

watermarks, and the content of the letter. Letters which have proved
impossible to date with confidence have been placed in an Appendix in
approximately chronological order, with the range of their possible dates
noted.
Wesley's spelling, use of capital letters, and punctuation have been
retained. No attempt has been made to reproduce either the varying lengths
of long dash with which Wesley frequently ends a sentence or the placing on
the page of his complimentary closes, and these have been standardized.
Editorially supplied material is placed in square brackets. Editorial conjectures
of passages missing in the text are placed within angle brackets (< >);
missing passages are indicated by an ellipsis within angle brackets, a note
giving the extent of the ornission.
Dates of birth and death in annotations somethnes take the fonn
'1758/9'. This form indicates a date derived from statements in obituaries or
other sources of age at death.
(c) The Wesley Sourcebook
The edition has been based on an examination of all Wesley's known
correspondence and personal papers. In its later stages it has proceeded side
by side with the preparation, with Michael Kassler, of A Wesley Source Book
(Ashgate, forthcoming), part of which consists of a calendar, with detailed
summaries, of all Wesley's correspondence, including letters to him and
concerning him. Work on this project has enabled the letters in the edition to
be dated and interpreted with far greater accuracy than would have been the
xcvi

case if they had been considered in isolation. Readers will be able to find in
the Sourcebook sununaries and locations for all letters not included here.
(d) The annotation
Because of the circumstances in which they were written - in -many
cases to colleagues with whom Wesley was in regular, often daily, contact,
and fulfilling the function of a present-day telephone conversation or email
message - the letters are often highly allusive and compressed, and on
occasion pose considerable problems of interpretation. My aim has been to
explain as many of Wesley's references and allusions as possible, in sufficient
detail to allow comprehensibility. Some annotations are inevitably extensive.
In Wesley's letter to Vincent Novello of 27 January 1825, for instance, his
throwaway comment that the theatre manager Robert Elliston 'would have
extorted ; C2OOO from poor Kean if he had not risked his, & 5000 more
Peoples' Lives on Monday Night' required a particularly long note to explain
the background, and why it was feared that Edmund Kean's appearance at
Drury Lane on this occasion might have occasioned a riot.
In the case of individuals, two factors have guided the amount of
annotation: their importance in the letters, and the extent of their fame. Those
who have only walk-on parts in the letters receive less annotation than those
who play an important role, and those well known from other contexts receive
less attention than the more obscure. More generally, the principle that I have
adopted is a familiar one: in the words of Alvaro Ribeiro, 'to explain
obscurities adequately and to hold a decent silence with regard to the
xcvii

obvious'. 7 But - and as Ribeiro goes on to say - it is often difficult to say what
the obvious is: this is dependent on the presumed interests and knowledge of
the reader, so that a level of annotation appropriate for one reader may be too
little for a second, and too much for a third. As Sarhuel Johnson put it in the
Preface to his edition of Shakespeare:
It is impossible for an expositor not to write too little for some,
and too much for others. He can only judge what is necessary
by his own experience; and how long soever he may deliberate,
will at last explain many lines which the learned will think
impossible to be mistaken, and omit many for which the
ignorant will want his help. These are censures merely relative,
and must be quietly endured. '
1. Copy at BL, Add. MS 11729, L 1.
2. 'Memoir of Samuel Wesley, the Musician', Wesley Banner and Revival Record, 3
(1851), 321-8,361-70,401-11,441-53.
3. Eliza's Preface is dated 11 May 1875.
J. Higgs, 'Samuel Wesley: his Life, Times and Influence on Music', Procedings of
the Musical Association, 20 (1893-4), 12547.
5. Stevenson makes no mention of Sarah Suter in the text of his chapter on SW, but she
is included in the pull-out genealogy of the Wesley family at the front of the volume.
6. W. B. Squire, 'Some Novello Correspondence', MO, 3 (1917), 206-42.
Bumey, Letters 1, XxXiV.
8. Quoted in Bumey, Letters 1, xxxiv.
xcviii

To Joseph Payne Street' [Ridgef, 21 February 1797
ALS, I p. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Addressed: To I M' Street I N. 17 1 Mark Lane I Tuesday. paid.
Pmk: 21 FE 97
Endorsed by Street: S. Wesley I Febry 21 1797
Dear Sir
I have received a Letter from our Friend Vincent, ' stating that he is at
present sustaining an Attack of the Rheumatism, nevertheless he hopes to be
a '%1k ble to join our Party on Friday, ' if there be possibility of venturing so far as
Paddington. - I hear that young Danb? will be among us, so that we shall not
be left quite desolate, in case of a Disappointment in the first Instance.
The principal Motive of this Letter is to acquaint you that I am
desirous of singing over a Miserere which I have composed, several Years
ago, for two Voices, and I think you and I could manage it very well. 6--
Perhaps you would like to con it a little previously; therefore if you will
favour me with a Line, by Thursday next, informing me where it may be left
for your Perusal on Friday Moming, you may depend upon my conveying it
to you for that purpose.
We expect to assemble in the Evening by 7 at the latest, when I hope
we shall all meet,
free from Coughs, Hoarseness, or any other vocal Obstacles
to Perfection.
Believe me
I

truly yours
S Wesley
Tuesday 21. Feby 1797
1. Joseph Payne Street (c. 1770-pUs 1848), an amateur musician friend of SW. On the
evidence of remarks in this and later letters, he was a businessman in the City:
probably the J. Street who appears as a stockbroker in London directories of this
time. He and his family were for at least three generations prominent members of the
Madrigal Society: he was elected to membership on 13 Oct. 1795 and was until 1848
the society's librarian; his son Joseph Edward and grandson Oscar were also
secretary in their turn. He was a member of the social circle of R. J. S. Stevens, and
is frequently mentioned in Stevens's Recollections. This letter is the first of eleven
to him from SW, donated to the BL by Mrs Hilda L. Whittaker, his great-
granddaughter, in 1971. Some manuscripts in his hand containing music by SW and
others are also at the BL (Grove'; under 'Madrigal Society'; Argent).
2. SW had been living at Ridge, a small village near St Albans, Hertfordshire, some 13
miles from London, since Oct. 1792. He moved to Finchley, probably in order to be
closer to London, some time in the summer of 1797.
3. Either J. Vincent or Zelophead Wyeth Vincent, both of whom are listed as male altos
in Doane.
4. On Friday. 24 Feb. 1797; the party was to be held at the home of Mrs Deane at the
Manor House, Paddington (see next letter).
5. Probably Eustace Danby (1781-1824), the nephew of the Roman Catholic composer
and organist John Danby (c_. 1757-1798).
6. 'Miscrere mei, Deus', for alto, bass, and organ. SW's autograph, dated 7 Apr. 1792,
is at BL, Add. MS 14342; an undated copy in the hand of Street is at
13L, Egerton
MS 2571.
2

To George Polgreen Bridgetowerl
Chesterrield StreeO, 23 February 1797
AL, third person, I p. (BL, Add. MS 56411, f. 7)
Addressed: To I MI Bridgetower I N. 20 1 Eaton Street I Pimlico
MI Samuel Wesley presents his best Compliments to MI Bridgetower,
requesting the Favour of his Company, if he should not be better engaged, to
a little musical Party among a few Friends To-morrow Evening, which will
meet at M" Deane's, 3 near the Church, Paddington. M' Wesley is conscious
of presuming upon MI Bridgetower's Indulgence, in consequence of so slight
an Acquaintance, and can only say in excuse of the Liberty he takes, that W
B. may freely command S. W's Services upon a similar Occasion.
If M" Bridgetower should oblige S. W. and his Friend so far as to
acquiesce in their Request, and will have the Goodness to return a Line by the
Bearer, infonning at what hour MI B could suffer his violin to be brought, a
proper & careful Porter shall attend for that purpose.
Chesterfield Street Marybone. Thursday Feb. 23 d 1797.
Mrl Deane I Manor House I Paddington I near the Church. 4
1. Ile violinist George Polgreen Bridgetower (? 1779-1860), the son of an African
father and a European mother, was first heard in England in 1790, when he came
under the patronage of the Prince of Wales Oater the Prince Regent and George IV),
who arranged for him to be taught the violin by Barthdlemon and Jamovick, and
composition by Attwood. He is best remembered as the violinist for whom Beethoven
3

wrote his Sonata in A, Op. 47 (later dedicated to the French violinist Rodolphe
Kreutzer and known as the 'Kreutzer Sonata'), which he and Beethoven first
perfomed in Vienna in May 1803 (F. G. Edwards, 'George P. Bridgetower and the
Kreutzer Sonata', MT, 49 (1908), 302-8; Betty Matthews, 'George Polgreen
Bridgetower', MR, 29 (1968), 22-6).
2. During his time at Ridge, and later when he was living at Finchley and Highgate,
SW used the family home at I Chesterfield Street (now Wesley Street), Marylebone,
as a convenient London base, staying overnight there as necessary.
3. A family friend. SW's love affair with her daughter Anne, a particular friend of his
sister Sarah, around 1799 gave rise to much family ill-will and an estrangement with
Sarah.
4.7be
Manor House, north of the churchyard, was purchased by the parish in 1810 and
demolished in 1824 to allow the enlargement of the churchyard (J. S. Cockburn, H.
P. F. King, and K. G. T. McDonnell (eds.), A History of the County of Middlesex,
9 vols. (Oxford, 1911-95), ix. 187)
4

To Thomas Merryweatherl [Chesterrield Streetf, 6 March 1798
ATQ
1
YLILS, p. (Foundling Hospital, A/FH/A06/001/051/21/1)
Addressed: To I M' Merryweather I Secretary's Off-ice I Foundling Hospital
Prnk: 6 MR 98 Penny Post Pd Id Marybone
Sir
It being my Intention to offer myself as a Candidate for the Vacancy
of Organist at the Foundling Chapel, ' I shall esteem myself much obliged by
a Line of Information concerning the Nature of the Duty &c directed either
to N. 1 Great Chesterfield Street, Marybone, or to Church End, Finchley;
remaining, with Respect
Sir
your very obed' humble Servant
S. Wesley
P. S. Had I not been under the Necessity of going out of Town early To-
morrow, I would have waited upon you in Person.
Tuesday. March 6.1798
1. lbomas Merryweather (d. 1799), Secretary to the Foundling Hospital from 1790 to
his death (Nichols and Wray, 412).
2. it is evident from the postmark, which bears the Marylebone stamp, that SW wrote
this letter from his mother's house.
3. The Foundling Hospital (now the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children) was
founded in 1742 by Thomas Coram, a retired sea-captain, for the benefit of children
5

abandoned by their parents. Its chapel had a long and distinguished musical history.
In its early days Handel was a generous benefactor: he gave annual performances of
his music in the chapel from 1749, donated an organ in 1750, and left the autograph
score of Messi to the hospital in his will (Nichols and Wray; Ruth K. McClure,
Coram's Childrew The London Foundling-Hosvital in the Eighteenth Century, (New
Haven and London, 1981)). The vacancy had been created by the resignation of the
blind organist Tom Grenville.
4. SW had moved from Ridge to Church End, Finchley, in or around July 1797. He
lived there until some time before the end of January 1799, when he moved to
Higbgate.
6

To [William Sewardf [Finchley, 16 June 1798]
ALS, 3 pp. (Sotheby's, 6 July 1977, Lot 389; present whereabouts unknown)
SW transmits the text of an advertisement he-has had published. thanking
those who voted for him in the recent election for the-post of organist at the
Foundling Hospital. He states that he 'doubts not-that their kind & liberal
Exertions would have been attended with good Success had the Election been
fairly conducted'. ' He emphasises that he fears no vote of censure that the
Govemors might choose to put on it. and while regretting that he has
expended so much time and trouble on an object of no importance. he-trusts
that Seward will think him no 'Coxcomb for thinking that my Rejection has
been rather the Charijy's Loss than mine'. He includes the text of a satirical
ballad entitled 'The Orizan Laid Open' in which he comments on the affair.
and which he says 'has lately appeared printed by Womum. at the Music Sho
in Wigmore Street. Cavendish Square'. '
The name of the addressee of this letter is given as 'Sewart' in Sotheby's sale
catalogue, but it is evident from its contents that it is in fact to William Seward
(1747-99). In his Reminiscences, SW commented: 'many years ago, when I was a
candidate for the place of organist to the Foundling Chapel, William Seward, Esq.,
the biographer and intimate friend of the great Dr Johnson, interested himself very
warmly in my favour, invited me to his apartments at Richmond, and there gave me
the kindest reception possible. He also introduced me there to all his numerous and
brilliant acquaintances, to the late Duke of Queensbury, and a large circle of the most
7

eminent and celebrated characters then in being. ' A poem entitled 'Lines addressed
to Mr Samuel Wesley on his visiting Mr. S- at Richmond, a second time, in the
Summer of 1798', unsigned but evidently by Seward, appeared in the 'Helicon Bag'
section of the Whitehall -Evening
Pos .
21-2 Aug. 1798; it was reprinted the
following month in the Trossiana' section of -EM
together with a short paragraph
describing SW's prowess as an extempore player (EM, 34 (1798), 161-2).
2. After a long appointment process, during which the eight candidates were required
to play the services on successive Sundays, there was an election and John Immyns
was appointed on 9 May. SW suspected, probably correctly, that In=yns's
appointment came about largely through the patronage of Joah Bates, one of the
Governors (Nichols and Wray; Foundling Hospital Minute Books (Foundling
Hospital).
3. 'The Orean laid oven. or. The True Stop Discovered. -a
New Song'. beginning
'Come all my brave boys who want organists' places'. The text, which comments
scurrilously on the part in the affair played by 'Jo Bates', is given in Lightwood; the
autograph is at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. SW and Immyns were friends,
and SW did not bear Immyns any personal ill-will for having been appointed instead
of him. According to Lightwood, Immyns composed an equally scurrilous rejoinder
to SW's ballad, which Lightwood declines to quote as being 'not suitable for
reproduction'; he does not give its location, and it has not been discovered
(Lightwood, 92-3).
8

To [Christian Ignatius Latrobe]'
[Highgate, M 22 February 1799]2
ALS, 3 pp. (Rylands)
Dear Sir
I have known enough of Printers to be but little surprised at the Delay
of your Work: ' but a Pleasure delayed is not therefore lost: nay, rather often
enhanced thereby, when we obtain it.
Good comes out of Evil. Though 40 Names are fewer by some Fifties
than I wish added to your List of Subscribers, yet perhaps, had not this
typographic Disappointment happened, your Desire of ending a troublesome
Job might have induced you to bring the Publication forward with so much
less of Advantage to yourself. '
am grieved more than Words can declare in being obliged to beg you
to withdraw one Name from those I gave You; a Name which, till very lately,
I thought I had every Cause to respect, & whose Person & various good
Qualities I still do & always shall love. Poor M" Bazley' is the unfortunate
Man whom you have seen announced in the Papers as having committed a
Fraud upon Hamet & Esdaile in Lombard Street, in whose House he had been
for upwards of 16 Years. If there be a Man for whose Integrity & strict
Principle of Justice I would have answered sooner than for most others, it was
Bazley. The little - we can know of our Neighbour's Perseverance in Right,
should make us tremble at the Danger of Error to which we are hourly
exposed. - Thomas A Kempis' well says, "He rideth easily enough, whom the
9

Grace of God carricth. " Without the kind, restraining Hand of an almighty
Parent, what poor Wretches we all arel
I thank you for D' Burney'O very handsome Note, ' which shall be
safely returned, & most willingly if you could make up your Mind to come
hither & fetch it. I know your Pressure of Engagements, and therefore do not
add my Pressure of Invitation; but nevertheless, as I sometimes make Time
to see a Friend, I am not without Hopes that you will resolve upon some such
Feat before long. --
I am a very accessible Personage on most Wednesdays &
Saturdays, & on the first of these that may happen to suit you, I shall be very
ready to grant you an Audience, even without a Fee to the Porter.
I was introduced to D'Jowete many Years ago, at Cambridge, where
I remained a Week; ` but probably he may have forgotten me long ere now.
I remember also MI Jowett (his Brother, I think), " a very musical Man, with
whom I sang Glees & Catches: they were both great Lovers of Harmony. 12
I have no present Appetite for a Doctorship, " & altho' Cambridge, as
an antient. Seat of Learning & true Worth must be ever an interesting &
beloved place of one, whose Ancestors were distinguished by both, " yet I
doubt whether the Station of musical Professor would not prove nearly as
laborious as that at which I am now posted. - How much Fatigue may be
lightened by a Weight of Honour, may perhaps be a Question worthy to be
proposed at the next public Disputation. I have an old fashioned Prejudice
about Honour, namely that I cannot help thinking it consists not in what a
Man is called, but what he is.
I have another odd Whim about Professorships, & Successorships. I
10

hate
6
the thought of waiting
for dead Men's Shoes.
- I had almost as soon die
in my ow . --
Believe me,
yours, dear Sir, with great Esteem & Regard,
S Wesley
P. S. When you next pass Birchall's Shop,! 5 pray tell him to hand you over a
copy of my newly published Sonatinas; ` they are very trifles, sed Datorem
non Datum considerabis. 17
The identity of the addressee of this letter as the prominent Moravian minister,
composer, and editor of music Christian Ignatius Latrobe (1758-1836) is established
by the reference to Bumey's 'handsome note' (see n. 8). After initial education and
a subsequent period of teaching at the Moravian college at Niesky, Upper Lusatia,
Latrobe returned to England in 1784 and was ordained. He was appointed secretary
to the Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel in 1787. and in 1795 succeeded
James Hutton as Secretary to the Unity of the Brethren in England. Although never
a professional musician and apparently self-taught, his significance as a composer and
editor was considerable. In addition to composing and editing several volumes of
church music for Moravian use, he was the editor of the six-volume Selection of
Sacred Music (1806-1820), which introduced church music by such composers as
Gratin, Hasse, Pergolesi, Haydn, and Mozart for the first time to British audiences,
and anticipated the publications of Vincent Novello (L)NB; Grove6 Latrobe's letter
.
to SW to which this is a reply has not been traced.
2. The date is established by the reference to the trial of Joseph Bazley (see n. 5). SW
moved from Finchley to Highgate some time before the end of Jan. 1799 (Charlotte
Louisa Wesley to Sarah, 23 Jan. 1799 (Drew)).
3. Latrobe's Dies Trae & c. an Ancient Hymn on the Last Judgment. translated ...
11

... the Earl of Roscommon ...
Adapted for the Piano Forte. and Four Voices (R.
Birchall, for the author, London, 1799).
4. Latrobe had earlier requested SW to solicit subscriptions for the Dies Trae He had
also approached Burney, with whom he was in frequent correspondence, with the
same request (see Burney to Latrobe, c-. 5 Feb. 1799 (Osborn); Latrobe to Burney,
7 Feb. 1799 (Osborn)). Latrobe had complained: 'to have to do with engravers &
printers is fit to make a parson swear - such lying & deceiving & pron-dse-breaking
wretches cannot surely exist in any other profession. My work is not yet printed off,
tho' promised before the Is' of January. When I went to Cambridge about 3 weeks
ago I was promised by the Printer, that all the Copies bespoke should be sent home
before my return, but on my return, not a stroke had been done. ' Latrobe's letter to
SW had presumably contained a similar complaint. There were in the end 185
subscribers, who between them purchased 212 copies. One of the two copies bought
by Burney is now at the RCM.
5. The Times, 23 Feb. 1799, reported the trial at the Old Bailey of Joseph BazleY, who
was found guilty of stealing a E100 bank-note from his employers, the bankers Sir
James Esdaile, Esdaile, Hammett, Esdaile, & Hammett.
6. Thomas A Kempis (1380-1471), Augustinian monk and author of Christian mystical
works. The quotation is from De imitatione Christi, his best known work and a
favourite devotional text of SW's father and uncle.
7. Dr Charles Burney (1726-1814), historian of music, author of The Present State af
Music in France and Italy, 2 vols. (1771 and 1773), The Present State o M_usic in
Germany, the Netherlands. and the United Provinces, 2 vols. (1773 and 1775), and
A General History of Music, 4 vols. (1776-89) (DNB; grove; Lonsdale).
8. Burney to Latrobe, -c-5
Feb. 1799 (Osborn), in which he had written: q had the
pleasure to meet Sam Westley [sýicj, of whom I had lost sight almost since his
childhood, if ever he was a child. In Music now, he is somewhat more than Man.
He pleased me very much, both by his performance & compositions; &I think hina
12

a credit to our country, Vh certainly does not abound In native composers of the first
class. ' This encounter was the beginning of a friendship between the two men which
was to last until Burney's death
9. Dr Joseph Jowett (1752-1813), matric. Trinity College, Cambridge (1769), migrated
to Trinity Hall (1773), LL B (1775), LL D (1780), Fellow of Trinity Hall (1773-95),
Regius Professor of Civil Law (1782-1813). He was a keen amateur musician and
a long-standing friend of Latrobe, who frequently visited him in Cambridge (Venn;
MLB).
10. SW had first visited Cambridge in or around 1788 (see SW to Burney, 7 July
[1808]).
11. Henry Jowett (b. 1756n), matric. Magdalene College, Cambridge (1774), BA
(1778), MA (1781) (Venn).
12. For a description of the musical talents of the Jowett family and Latrobe's friendship
with them, see Latrobe's Letters to my Children (1851), 5-12. Latrobe describes how
he first met Henry Jowett and a third brother, John, in 1790 at the house of the Revd
James Edward Gambier, Rector of Langley, Kent. He later visited John Jowett on
a number of occasions at his house in Newington Butts and there met the remainder
of the family, including Joseph. Following one of these visits Joseph Jowett invited
the whole party to stay with him for several days at Trinity Hall, where,. as Latrobe
records, they 'spent several days in the enjoyment of every thing that could afford
rational and intellectual delight, under the direction of the most cheerful, sweet-
tempered, hospitable man existing; whose chief pleasure it was, to please his friends,
and to do good to all mankind'. Latrobe's friendship with Joseph Jowett continued
until Jowett's death. See also the Preface to vol. 3 of Latrobe's. Selection of Sacred
Music, published shortly after the death of Joseph Jowett, which contains a further
tribute to the family.
13. Latrobe had presumably enquired if SW was interested in taking a Cambridge music
degree and in pursuing an academic career. His enquiry may have been prompted by
13

the illness of the Professor of Music, John Randall (1717-99), who died shortly
afterwards and was succeeded by SW's friend Charles Hague.
14. i. e. by both Canibridge and Oxford: SW's grandfather Saznuel Wesley (1662-1735)
matric. Exeter College, Oxford (1684), BA (1688), MA Corpus Christi College,
Cambridge (1694); SW's father Charles Wesley (1707-88) matric. Christ Church,
Oxford (1726), BA (1730), MA (1733); SW's uncle John Wesley (1703-91) matric.
Christ Church (1720), BA (1724), MA (1727), Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford
(1725) (Foster).
15. The premises of Robert Birchall (c. 1760-1819), music seller, instrument dealer, and
publisher, at 133 New Bond Street. Birchall also published many of SW's later works
(Humphries and Smith).
M
SW's Twelve Sonatinas for the Piano-Forte or Harpsichord, Op. 4, published by
Birchall for SW.
17. 'You will consider the giver, not the gift'.
14

To [Joseph Payne Street] [Highgatel, 1 May 1799
ALS, 1 p. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Dear Sir
As I happened to pick up the most correct of perfect Editions of M'
Chillingworth's Works which is extant, I hope you will favour me by
accepting it. -- A Folio I own is a frightful Thing, but yet such a Folio as TW
Locke' declares to be capable of making Men reason always justly, is not to
be met with from every Pen. 1--
The other ugly old Book (which I believe is in some Places scarcely
legible) you can leave out for the Carrier when he shall call next on you in
Mark Lane. --
It belongs to my Brother, 4 who whenever he is disposed to study
Chillingworth (an Event rather to be wished than expected I shall advise to
read him from a better Print.
Yours sincerely
S Wesley
Wednesday May 1.1799.
1. William Chillingworth (1602-44), Scholar and Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford,
and one of the literary circle that gathered round Lucius Cary Falkland (161043) at
Great Tew, Oxfordshire. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1630, but rejected
it in 1634; the controversial The Religion of the Protestants a safe Way to Salvation
(1637) was his most celebrated work. There were many editions of his works; the
one referred to here was possibly the one including his life by Birch, published ill
15

1742 (DNB; OCE .
2. John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher.
3. Locke had commented in his Some Thoughts concerning Rcading and Study-for a
Gentleman, first published in A Collection of Several Pieces of Mr. John Locke.
Never before Printed. or Not Extant in his Works (1720): 'Besides perspicuity, there
must be also right reasoning; without which perspicuity serves but to expose the
speaker. And for the attaining of this I should propose the constant reading of
Chillingworth, who by his example will teach both perspicuity and the way of right
reasoning, better than any book that I know; and therefore will deserve to be read
on that account over and over again; not to say anything of his argument. '
4. Charles Wesley jun., (1757-1834), SW's elder brother. Like SW, he had been a
musical child prodigy, and his precocity as a performer and composer had astounded
all who heard him. He did not fulfil his youthful promise, however, and his later
musical career was one of relative obscurity. He was a noted harpsichordist and
organist, held various church appointments, and was organist to the Prince of Wales
(later the Prince Regent and George IV), but took no major part in Undon's
professional musical life. His few later compositions are conservative in style. As
SW's subsequent comment suggests, he was not a great reader.
16

To Joseph Payne Street [Highgate]l 6 October 1799
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Addressed: To I M' Street I N. 17.1 Mark Lane I Palld
Pmk: 7 OC 99
Dear Sir
I have appointed to be at M'Ball's' Piano Forte Manufactory on Friday
next' exactly at one o'Clock p. m. whither I shall bring the Confitebor4 in
order to run it over upon an Organ which he has there at present. - I know
that the Middle of the Day is somewhat inconvenient for you to leave the
City, but as this is the first Opportunity which has yet presented upon the
Subject, & as you seemed desirous that Nf Carter' should get an early Sight
of the Work, I resolved to lose no Time in fixing a Place for that Purpose. -
In case you may be able to favour us with your Company, I will thank you to
signify to M" C. that the above Affangement is made, when if he can manage
to join us, & will part with his Coals for a Song on that Day, it will be a
great Acquisition, especially if he can prevail on that Busby-wigged Parson6
whom we saw at his House, to come & assist in the Bass.
As the Psalm is one of those sung in the Roman Vespers on a Sunday,
perhaps his filial Piety towards holy Mother Church may influence hirn to
sacrifice IAicre to Devotion. -
All this, of course, entre nous.
Yours sincerely
17

S Wesley
Sunday 6 Oct. 1799.
Please to direct to Marybone.
Turn over if you please.
I will thank you to look into the Answer to the 0 Chapter in
Chillingworth. '-- Scct. 4. as I think there must be a false Print in mine Edition
- it occurs, about 16 Lines from the Beginning; thus:
"The Necessity of believing them being inforced upon us by a
Necessity of believing this essential & Fundamental Article of Faith, That al
Divine Revelations are true, which to disbelieve, or not to disbelieve, is, for
any Christians, not only impious, but impossible"-
Surely the latter disbelieve, ought to be printed, believe; the other
8__
plainly enforcing a Contradiction.
I trust that your Edition has no such
Blunder. -
I took up the Book the other Night, by Way of Relaxation after
hard Work, & imagined the Difficulty to arise out of my Stupidity, & so kept
stirring my Brains about till they boiled over like Cream in a Saucepan &I
knew not whether 2&2
made 4, or a 100, but was yet certain, that
Chillingworth must be right, (& true enough: ) but little suspecting the
Fallibili
of the Compositor; otherwise I might have spared myself much
absurd Labour.
1. In June or July 1799 SW had moved to an address variously described as '5th Mile
Stone' or '5 Mile Stone', Highgate (Sarah Gwynne Wesley (SW's mother) to Sarah,
12 June [1799] (Emory)). He lived there until late spring 1803.
2. James Ball (_fl. g. 1780-1832), piano maker, music seller, publisher, and printer. His
18

premises were at 27 Duke Street, Grosvenor Square, Mayfair (Humphries and Smith;
Brown and Stratton).
3.11 Oct.
4. SW's recently completed large-scale setting for soloists, choir, and orchestra of the
Vesper psalm 'Confitebor tibi, Domine' (Ps. I 11), the autograph of which (BL, Add.
MS 35002) is dated 14 Aug. 1799.
5. Probably the Irish composer and alto singer 71omas, Carter (ii) (1769-1800). As
SW's remark later in this letter implies, he was also a coal merchant (Grove6; Doane;
Holden's Triennial Directory, 1799). The autograph of SW's setting of 'Near
Thame's Fam'd Banks' (BL, Add. MS 56411) is annotated as having been 'composed
expressly for the performance of M' Carter and for the use of the ad Libitum
Society, Dee 22 1799. ' He was also a friend of R. J. S. Stevens (Argent, Rassim .
6. Not certainly identified, but possibly one of the two brothers mentioned in the
following letter: in his letter to his brother of 15 Jan. 1807, SW refers to a 'Parson
Barry of Dulwich' who was the host of a music party that SW attended there. A
busby was a large bushy wig (QED The party also included Wright (see next
letter).
7. Query about Chillingworth. i. e. Ilie Religion of Protestants a safe Way to Salvation.
8. SW was correct in his conjecture. The corrupt edition has not been identified.
19

To Joseph Payne Street Highgate, 18 October 1799
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Addressed: To I M' Street I N. 17 1 Mark Lane I London
Pmk: OC 19 99
Dear Sir
We were much disappointed in not having the Pleasure of your
Company on Wednesday last, ' although your Words to me were not
sufficiently strong to make me rely on seeing you with as much Confidence
as I could have wished. -- Our little Party was a remarkably pleasant one,
consisting only of W Barry & his Brother' (besides Mrs W, 3 & myself) who
were extremely agreeable, & seemed mightily to enjoy themselves. - I
happened to draw two or three Corks, the-Liguid belonging to which met most
extraordinary Approbation, & really we had nothing to regret but your
Absence: the Gents talked of returning to Town about 9 in the Evening (altho'
I offered them Lodging here which they said an early matutinal Engagement
wd prevent their accepting) but beholdl it became past the Hour of One on the
Thursday Moming before they resolved to depart, & it was absolutely then,
with Reluctance.
- I discover that Barry (my Scholar) is a Man of much quick
Sentiment, & Kindness of Heart: a thorough Lover, (& no indifferent Judge)
of real good Musick: a perfect Gentleman in his Manners, & an exceedingly
good Companion. - All these Qualifications engage me not to slight his
Society, &I am therefore determined to shew him any obliging Attentions in
20

my Power. He much wishes to make up a little Glee Concert among
ourselves, to which he means to invite M' Wrigh (who stood on the left of
the Book at Ball's on Friday 110)5 whom he represents to me as a very
profound Connoisseur in Hannony, &a
good Sight's Man, of which
Propositions we shall be able to form a good Opinion, when we come to the
Test of singing with him: Barry is anxious to form a Party for some Evening
when I can remain in Town, & desired me to say that he will be particularly
glad of your Company with that of any other Friend to re-inforce our musical
Corps.
If you can prevail on MI Drummer6 to accompany us, I know nothing
to prevent my going to Barry's on Friday nex *' in the Evening: -
I shall
thank you for an immediate Answer to this, directed hither, which I shall
obtain by Sunday, or at latest, on Monday Morning. --
His Address is 37
Queen Square Bloomsbury.
I am
Dear Sir
sincerely yours
S Wesley
5 Mile Stone. I Highgate. I Friday 18 Oce. 1799
*I had written Tuesdgy at first, but upon Recollection, I cannot go on that
Evening.
21

1.16 Oct.
2. Neither brother has been certainly identified; one was a pupil of SW who lived at 37
Queen's Square, Bloomsbury; the other may have been 'Mr Parson Barry of
Dulwich' mentioned in SW to CW jun., 15 Jan. 1807.
3. SW's wife Charlotte Louisa, n6e Martin (1761-1845).
4. Not certainly identified; possibly the banker of this name mentioned in SW to Jacob,
[24 Nov. 1809].
5. The play-through of the Conf itebo mentioned in the previous letter.
6. Either John or William Drummer, two brothers who were amateur musician friends
of SW and Street, and who feature in SWs letters over a period of thirty years. John
Drummer was probably the coal merchant of this name listed in Holden's Triennial
Directory for 1799.
7.25 Oct.
22

To [Charles Burney]' Highgate, 5 November [1799? f
ALS, 1 p. (Osborn, MSS 3, Box 16, Folder 1192)
5 th Mi e tone
Highgate
Nov. 5.
My dear Sir
I address you at a Venture of speedy Success; but whenever you shall
have returned from the Country, ' I trust that you will favour me by your
wonted Permission to attend you on some orning which may happen to suit
your Convenience, for allowing me the Instruction & Comfort of your
Conversation, & the Happiness of re-assuring you that I remain always most
respectfully & most cordially
Your obliged
& devoted Friend
S. Wesley
1. Although lacking an address portion, the deferential tone, content, and present
location of this letter in the Osborn Collection leave little doubt that it is to Burney.
2. The year of this letter is conjectural, but can only be between 1799 and 1802, as SW
moved to this address in Highgate in the summer of 1799 and left in late spring
1803. SWs reference to Burney's forthcoming return from the country (see n. 3)
may be to the visit mentioned in SW to Burney, 28 Nov. 1799, and suggests that
1799 is the most probable year.
3. No details are known of this visit.
23

To Joseph Payne Street Highgate, 9 November [1799f
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Addressed: To I M' Street. I N. 17 1 Mark Lane
Pmk: NO 9 99
5 Mile Stone
Highgate
Saturday Nov 9.
"Combe for ever" 12
Dear Sir
M" and M" Kingstoný hope for the Pleasure of your Company together
with M' Drummer's on Tuesday next, " as near 6 in the Evening as you can
manage to meet us. -- I mean to bring with me a new Chorus for a double
Choir, ' (as well as the Confitebor) of which I played you the Subject when we
met last at M" Drununer's, & which I was unable to finish in fair Copy till
within this last Week.
Your Intelligence concerning the Discovery in the News-paper
surprized me a little. I called to Day upon Ball, (from whom I had obtained
Mr Howard's Invitation) to have an explanation of the Business.
- I know not
whether I remarked to you that he wished me to oblige him on Sunday nex ,
(the 1U' Inst) which was impossible, on Account of an Engagement at
Watford; ' 'I therefore informed him that if he could defer the Charity Sermon
24

until the 171,1 would then attend him: but it appears that the Preacher
(whoever he is) is determined upon mounting Timber on the very next
immediate. consecutive. & proximate Lord's Day, so that M' Howard must
7
thumb the Musicks himself, all alone, & no-body with him.
By the Way, it would have been full as civil in the aforesaid Organist
to have signified to me the State of the Circumstance, before he had inserted
his Advertisement, stating the Reasons that made it necessary to decline mine
Assistance. - However we know that Politesse is no sine qua non in the
Composition of a Crotchet-Monger, & by this same Omission of his, I am
fully liberated from the Necessity of attending him in future.
I have been reading, in the Monthly Magazine for Dee 1799. a very
pretty Account of Mozart, written by M' Busby: ' If you have not seen it (the
contrary to which is most likely) I would advise you to give it a Perusal: You
will find the Style very respectable, & the whole, interesting.
If the Biographer write ex Corde, he is superior to that mean Jealousy
which pervades, (I may say 9 tenths) of us professional Vagabonds.
I hope Carter will come on Tuesday: I said nothing of him to the
Kingstons, that it may be an agreeable Surprize.
Y" dear Sir
Very sincerely
S Wesley
1. The year is given by 9 Nov. falling on a Saturday and SW's Highgate address.
2. The significance of this remark is not known.
25

3. Clearly another amateur musician friend of SW and his wife. He can probably be
identified as William B. Kingston, who appears intermittently in the letters and who
was a close friend of SW. For his involvement with the care of SW during his
serious illness of 1817-18, see SW to Glenn, 23 Mar. 1818, n. 3.
4.12 Nov.
5. Probably the setting of 'Deus majestatis intonuit' for double SATB chorus with
orchestra and organ, the two autographs of which (LC, ML 96. W49; BL, Add. MS
71107) are
dated 26 Sept. 1799.
6. Not traced.
7. it appears from this paragraph that SW had been approached by Howard with an
invitation to play at a charity sermon at Howard's church. SW was unable to play on
10 Sept., the date originally suggested, as he was already had an engagement in
Watford on that day; accordingly, he had suggested the following Sunday, 17 Sept.
The 'discovery in the newspaper' (untraced) was presumably an advertisement
announcing SW's appearance on the date originally suggested. Howard was probably
Thomas Howard, who in 1802 entered into an agreemento erect an organ and
supply organists at St Mary le Bow (Dawe, 111- 12).
8. The 'Life of Mozart' by the composer and writer on music Thomas Busby (1755-
1838) had in fact appeared in MM for Dec. 1798, pp. 445-50.
26

To Charles Burney Highgate, 28 November 1799
ALS, 4 pp. (Rylands, DDWF 15/8; address portion Osbom, MSS 3, Box 5,
Folder 319)1.
Addressed: To I D'Burney I Chelsea College.
Endorsed by Burney: M" S. Wesley 1799
Docketed by Mme dArblay:
Pmk: 4 O'Clock 28 NO 99 EVEN
Dear Sir,
Your last obliging Letter' having exprest the Probability of your Return from
the Country about this Time, it is with much Satisfaction that I embrace the
first Opportunity of assuring you of the Happiness I promise myself in
attending you at Chelsea' one morning, e'er long.
My present professional Engagements occupy so much time (&
consequently deprive me of those Hours which I long to devote to Study) that
I am convinced of the Truth of the Proverb - "We may buy Gold too dear. "
Nevertheless I have lately stolen an Hour in every Day, for the worthy
Purpose of perusing attentively your invaluable History of Musick, ' which,
although I had seen several Years ago, yet I was then unable to study with
much Profit, being "A man of but little Latin, & less Greek" :6 however,
having since acquired a slight Smattering of these two Languages, I am better
qualified for applying to your excellent Work with Advantage, sincerely
27

egretting the Neglect of earlier Cultivatio , which would have discovered to
me hidden Treasures: -- I might then have borrowed some of them, but now
I can only V= at thern.
I presume on your indulgent Permission to 'ask you Questions for
Information upon musical Matters, especially since you have so kindly assisted
me by your Advice in several Points concerning the Composition you
condescended to revise. '
In the course of reading To-day, I studied the Table of the Greek
Modes in your 1" Vol p. 48.1
In p. 49' you observe: - "There is a passage in Aristides Quintilianus, 10
which seems to point out something like Connection & Relation between the
five original Modes, & those above & below them. He says, after having
enumerated the 15 Modes, "By this means, each Mode has flcepvn7-ct xctt
IIECrOT71TCI KCIL
its Bottom, its Middle, & its Tgp, or its grave, mean,
acute. "
"This seems to imply that the three Modes of DORIAN, Hypodorian,
& Hyperdorian, for instance, were considered, in a Manner, as one: & as if
the two Modes belonging to each of the five middle ones, a fourth above, &
a fourth below, were regarded as necessary Adjuncts, without which they
were not complete. "
A Doubt has occurred to me, respecting the Manner in which the
Ionian, Hypoiastian, & Hyperiastian Modes have been printed in the 48'
Page, which is the Subject of my present Enquiry.
28

Yj poi cLs-ilan
JL
41
It appeared to me that the lower Note ought to have been placed upon the 51
%, IG
Line, with five Flats, thus: 01-,, "6
--I- r-ý
for otherwise, as there is a
Diesis between G0&A6
the Ratio seems to be broken between the v ro & the
vrep Modes. And this Conjecture of mine you suppo in page 50, where in
enumerating the 5 principal Modes with their Collaterals, you observe that
they answer to the following Keys in present Use,
Hypo: Doria Hyperdo:
ADG
B6
E6
Hypoiast: Iastian Hyperiastian
I searched the Table of Errata, in which I found no Notice taken of any
Mistake relative to the Shajps; I therefore wish to know whether you might
have marked 500 instead of 566 for a better Reason than I am able to give;
29

& yet this seems to be not perfectly consistent with the Account given of the
Relation of the Modes to each other in the 50' Page, where the A6 is marked
instead of Go & according to my present Notion of the Truth.
Whether I am more-nice than wise upon this'Occasion, or not, (the
former of which is very probable) an illuminating Line from your Pen, at any
future Moment of your Leisure, will be received as one more among the many
kind Attentions already shewn. to
Dear Sir
Your most obliged Friend
& devoted Servant
S Wesley
5 Mile Stone I Highgate I Thursday. Nov. 28.1799.
1. The address portion contains Burney's draft reply to this letter.
2. This editorial symbol was added by Burney's daughter Frances (Mme d'Arblay) as
part of her classification of her father's letters into various categories of interest for
inclusion in her projected edition of the correspondence. For her activities as editor,
see Joyce Hemlow with Curtis D. Cecil and Althea Douglas (eds.), 71e Journals and
Letters of Fanny Burney (Madame d'Arblay (Oxford, 1972), vol. 1, xxxvi-xliv;
Burney, Utters 1, xxxii. This symbol is interpreted by Hemlow and Ribeiro as
denoting a letter 'in a second category of interest'.
Not preserved.
4. Bumey had been appointed organist at Chelsea College in Dec. 1783. The post
included rent-free accommodation at the college. (Lonsdale, 295-6).
5. Bumey's A General History of Music. from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period,
4 vols. (1776-89).
30

6. cf. Den Jonson, To the Memory of Shakespeare (1623): 'Thou hadst small Latin, and
less Greek'.
7. SW's Confitebo In his Reminiscences, SW . wrote: 'In the Year 17991 composed
a Confitebor ....
I sent the score of this work to the late worthy Doctor Charles
Burney for his Revision and opinion. Ile examined each movement critically with the
nicest observations on them. He concluded by saying "Upon the whole it Is an
admirable composition in florid Counterpoint and in the best style of Church
Music". '
8. Mercer, 1.53.
9. Mercer, 1.54.
10. Aristides Quintilianus (fl. g. 200 AD), a Greek music theorist, author of an influential
treatise Peri mousikes ('On music), described in Grove' as 'heavily derivative, with
nothing by way of content or organization that can safely be attributed to Aristides
himself'. It was included in Marcus Meibomius's Antiguae musicae nuctores s2l2tem.
Graece et Latine, 2 vols. (Amsterdam, 1652), a copy of which Bumey owned
(Burney, Histo ,
i. 11,441; Mercer, i. 30-1,349; Burney, Letters 1,55, n. 8).
31

To Charles Burney
[Ifighgatel, [30 Noy 1799]1
ALS, 2 pp. (UCSB)
Endorsed by Burney: 30 NoVr 1799
My Dear Sir
This is really pestering you with my Letters, but it were more than "a
venial sin" to delay for a moment offering you my Thanks for your signal
Attention & satisfactory Answer to the Question I took the Liberty of
proposing, ' which I hope & trust you will believe was asked merely for the
Sake of Information without the least Affectation of Sagacity.
You have clearly shewn that I understood myself only by Halves, &
that by placing the Hyperionian mode in A6 Major I had forgotten "the Beam
in mine own Eye.
If I at last understand the matter, the Table ought to be arranged thus:
I have just finished the 81 section of the Dissertation, 4 in which appears to
me, that the "Question concerning Counterpoint among the Antients, is so
demonstratively decided, no man in his Wits, or whose Prejudices did not
suffocate them (which perhaps may be -- could offer a Word in arrest of
32

Judgement.
Mr. Locke's mixed ModeO are by far more intelligible than those
which M. Burette contends to have been used in Greek Musick: surely
it is
impossible that any Ears could have borne an Air 'even in the Lydian &
Dorian mode either sung or played together. -
Your confirmation of the
Argument by the experiment of the Diapason, Principal, 121h, 15'h& Tierce
in an Organ' is an invincible Proof that no Euphony could possibly be
produced "were not the small harmonic Pipes governed by the greater. "
Indeed every fresh Page of this Dissertation carries with it such
irresistible Evidence, that no musical enquiries need say 60C WOU OrTW8
respecting the Subject of Greek Counterpoint: & among the many who must
acknowledge their obligations for your
illuminating Researches, believe me
there is no one who feels them more forcibly nor more gratefully than
Dear Sir
Your much indebted
& obedient Servant
S Wesley
1. The date is given by Burney's endorsement.
2. In his draft reply to SW's previous letter, Burney had stated: 'with respect to your
remark on the mistake in the Notation of the Hypoiastian Mode, without look[ing]
into my Histy I am certain prima facie that your suggestion is right; the Tetrachord.
to E6 minor must be A 6. As every one knows that has dipt into harmonics that 00
&A6
though produced on keyed Instrue is w" the voice, & violin a different
sound; nor can any of the sounds of the 2 scales be the same ....
How this blunder
33

escaped me I cannot imagine: for the moment I saw your transcript of the passage
from my Dissertation, I was struck with its inaccuracy. '
3. Matt. 7: 3; Luke 6: 41.
'Whether the Ancients had Counterpoint or Music in Pans, Part 8 of the lengthy
Dissertation on the Music of the Ancient which opens Burncy's Ifisto
.
5. A reference to the classification of abstract concepts in Locke's An Essay concerning
Human Understandin ,
Il. xxii. Locke states: 'mixed modes [arc] the complcx ideaj
we mark by the names obligatio ,
drunkenness, a Lie, etc.; which consisting of
several combinations of simple Ldgegaj of different kinds, I have called mixed modes,
to distinguish them from the more simple modes, which consist only of simple Ldcas
of the same kind. Ilese mixed modes, being also such combinations of simple ideas
as are not looked upon to be characteristical marks of any real beings that have a
steady existence, but scattered and independent ideas put together by the mind, are
thereby distinguished from the complex ideas of substances. '
6. Pieffe-Jean Burette (1665-1747), a French musician and scholar who wrote
extensively on aspects of ancient Greek music (Grove His works . were published
as Wmoires de litt6rature ...
de I'Agd6mie des inscrintions et belles lettres, 17
vols. (Paris, 171748). and his views remained standard for many years. He is
frequently cited by Burney in his History of Music.
7. i. e. the playing together of various organ stops sounding at the unison and at the
intervals of an octave, a twelfth, two octaves, and two octaves and a major third
higher. The intervals specified are those of successive overtones in the harmonic
series. Burney's discussion of this point is not included in hi s draft reply.
8. 'Give me somewhere to stand.
J
34

To unidentiried lawyers' Highgate, 5 January 1800
ALS, 3 pp. (Rylands, DDWF 15110)
Gentlemen
Having been in Town almost all last Week, I did not obtain your Letter
till Yesterday Evening. -
I should otherwise have given you an immediate
answer. -
It seems plain that M' Sibthorpe is determined upon being as
litigious, & proving as troublesome & irrational as he can: I have no other
vouchers for my legal Claim to the Estate at Guildford, than what 9 Price's
Will, & the Title Deeds have given; '-- Why these are considered insufficient
am at a Loss to account, nor is it possible for me to bring forward a State
of Facts which happened long before I had an Acquaintance with the
Testator. -
Nothing can be more evident to me than that all these Delays have
been contrived by MI S on purpose to revenge the Pique he felt in my not
entrusting the Papers unreservedly into his Possession.
- You must be better
Judges than I, whether herein I did wisely or not. - I acted upon the Advice
of M" Foster, 4 who thought it highly imprudent to trust them entirely to the
Mercy of the Purchaser's Attorney, therefore if I have done wrong in this
Rcspcct, M' Fostcr is the Author, who I think would not havc intcntionally
given me
improper Counsel.
It is very vexatious to find this Business so shamefully (& I believe)
wanLo Ul procrastinated. - W Sibthorpe had as well go about to deny My
Right to the Estate at once, as to confound & perplex Matters concerning my
35

Poser of disposing of it; & in that Case, D' Broxhams will be found to have
made no legal Purchase, and the Property will be Nobody's. --
This must be clear to you, & therefore I have only to add, that if the
Vouchers & Instruments already produced, be not available to enable me to
receiVe the Purchase Money, D' Broxharn must adopt some other Plan than
any I know of for the Purpose of making his claim legal & indisputable.
If I had had any other explanatory Papers upon the Subject, you may
be assured that I should have readily produced them, in order to expedite &
conclude an Affair which has caused me so much Trouble, & which will bring
me (after all) an Advantage by far inadequate to the real Value of the
Premises.
I remain
Gentlemen
I" obedient Servant
S Wesley
P. S. If an Answer to me be necessary, please to direct to Chesterfield Street
Marybone -
MI S. Wesley.
Highgate. 5 Jany 1800.
1. This letter, evidently addressed to a firm of lawyers, concerns SW's right of title to
a house and land in Guildford left to him in the will of J=es Price (see n. 3).
2. From SW's later remarks, evidently the attorney acting for Mr Broxham, who was
attempting to purchase the property from SW.
3. Dr James Price (1752-83), English experimental scientist, sometimes described as
'the last of the alchemists'. He was one of the circle of friends at Guildford visited
36

y SW and other members of his family during SW's boyhood. Ile comn-dtted suicide
on 3 or 8 Aug. 1783, having failed to replicate in public the experiments carried out
at his house at Stoke, near Guildford, in 1782, in which he claimed to have turned
mercury into silver and gold. In his will he left SW 0,000 and the house at
Guildford discussed in this letter. A letter from him to SW of 28 July 1783 is printed
in Lightwood; in it he relates his latest experiments with beating alloys in a wind
furnace (DNB; Lightwood, 57-9).
4. Not identified: evidently a lawyer acting for SW.
5. The purchaser: not otherwise identified.
37

To Joseph Reid' Chesterfield Street, 7 January 1800
ALS, 1 p. (Duke, Frank Baker collection (photocopy); location of original
unknown)
Addressed: To I Joseph Reid Esq7 I Staples Inn2 I Holbom
Sir
I am really at a Loss how to apologize for a Neglect which no Apology
can sufficiently excuse, by which I mean my sh=eful Delay in not having
rendered you very long ago my best Thanks for the Volume which you were
so good as to bestow upon me, viz; the life of Chillingworth, 3 which I
obtained from our late & good Friend, M' Seward. '
So valuable a Present will ever be remembered with Gratitude towards
the Donor, but I fear that the Acknowledgement of it will scarcely convince
you that I am, with much Respect,
Sir
Your truly obliged,
& grateful Servant
S Wesley
Chesterfield Street. Marybone I Tuesday. Jan. 7.1800
1. Unidentified. From his address (see n. 2) he was evidently a lawyer; he may have
been involved with the =tters discussed in the previous letter.
2. In fact, Staple Inn, one of the Inns of Chancery, affiliated to Gray's I= and occupied
by firms of attorneys and solicitors. Ile building still stands, and is occupied by the
38

Institute of Actuaries (London En2yclovedia, under 'Inns of Chancery').
3. Pieffe des Maizeaux, An Historical and Critical Account of the Life and -Writings
of
Wrn Chillingwo (London, 1725).
4. Seward had died on 24 Apr. 1799.
39

To Joseph Payne Street [Highgate], [3 May 180011
AL, 3 pp. (BL, Add. MS 56228); damaged and incomplete
Addressed: To I M' Street. I N. 17.1 Mark Lane
Pmk: 3 MY 1800
Dear Sir
Mll Drummer has made a Promise of coming over hither in about a
Fortnight or three Weeks hence, &I shall reckon upon the Pleasure of your
accompanying him: I also think of requesting his Brother's Company together;
if the Day appointed should happen to suit him. --
I dined with MI T Attwood'
on Friday last, ' who has also given his Word to give me a Day at Highgate
before long. If -- we can but manage to match all Parties on the same Day, I
shall be very much gratified, & intend to contrive in my best Manner to bring
it about. -- You know that the Diminutiveness of my Palace admits the round
Sort of Party which I should be more happy to make, but which, for the sake
of their Comfort, I must be at present compelled to forego: especially as I
have not more than one spare Bed. - However, let me inform you, that I can
secure two Beds in the Neighbourhood, so that your Distance ftom Town here
must not be an Obstacle to your indulging us, as we will take Care you shall
not be at a Loss for a safe & comfortable Lodging. --
You will oblige me by referring [to] Chillingworth's VI Chapter.
Sect. 59 Title, -- -"Separation of Protestants from the Church of Rome, not
guilty of Schism.
"4__
I am inclined to think that there must be some
40

considerable Error in the Print of the following Passage- "Or would you have
him believe those Things true, which together with him you have supposed to
be Errors? This is such an one, as is assured or persuaded of that, which your
here suppose, that your Church doth err, (& such only, we say, are obliged
to forsake your Conununion) is as Schoolmen speak, Implicatio in Terminis,
a Contradiction so plain, that one Word destroyeth another; as if one should
say, living dead Man.
The verb is, immediately after the Parenthesis, I cannot connect
grammatically with any one Word which preceded; I have tried several Ways,
but none successfully, & therefore would gladly know how the Sentence runs
in your Edition, which as I am informed, is in all Respects the most correct
that has hitherto appeared. '
It little matters what Blunders Compositors may make in a Novel, or
any other modem Nonsense called sentimental; but in Works of moral &
metaphysical
Truth, Carelessness is the most inexcusable Dishonesty.
-
Although Chillingworth's is never a tangled Chain, 6 yet as it is wrought
exquisitely fme, great Danger there is of Confusion, unless every Word &
Point be rendered with the utmost Accuracy; & it is with profound Reasoners
on abstract moral Truth, as with Mathematicians upon Lines & Quantities: one
Link of their Series being either lost or impaired, the whole Symmetry is
destroyed, & the whole Order of the Reasoning is disturbed & disjointed; all
of which may easily happen by one typographical Mistake.
I find that Salomon7 intends to repeat the Oratorio of Haydn! on
nursday 15' inst. - He has of course made it necessary for me to lend a
41

helping Hand. - Barthelemor? has pleaded hard, (but in vain) for a Copy of
the "Dixit Dominus", " & (as some People will never lose for Want of asking)
he requested me to play at his Jerusalem Chamber" (to boot) on Thursday 22d
of this Month. -
But this too has been answered in the Negative. -
My real
Friends have a just Claim on my musical Services, which I think you know
I am always ready to render them, but with the Irade, I will deal sharply,
well knowing that it is merely ftom Necessity, & never from Good Wil that
they apply to me for Assistance.
MI W. joins < ....
> hoping that y< ou ... > 12
P. S. Since I wrote the under Part" I think I have guessed how the Blunder is
in Chillingworth's Text. --
Instead of "This is such an one, " if we read "this
in such an one as is assured &c -&
if this be right (as I suspect it is, the
sense being then logical & compleat) the IS after the Parenthesis is right, as
you will find upon a Moment's Examination.
-
1. Ile date is given by the postmark.
71omas Attwood (1765-1838) had begun his musical career as a chorister in the
Chapel Royal, where he came to the attention of the Prince of Wales, who paid for
him to continue his musical education abroad. He was in Italy from 1783 to 1785 and
was a pupil of Mozart in Vienna from 1785 to 1787. He was music-tcacher to the
Duke of York (from 1791), to the Princess of Wales (from 1795), and composer to
the Chapel Royal (from 1796). He was appointed organist of St Paul's Cathedral in
1796, a position he held until his death.
25 Apr.
42

4. In Ile Religion of Protestants a safe Way to Salvation.
5. SW was right in his suspicion of a misprint. As he correctly conjectured
in his
postscript, the text should read 'this Ln such a one' (editor's italics).
6. lbeseus's description of the Prologue's speech in the mechanicals' play in
Midsummer Night's Dream, V. L 124.
7. Johann Peter Salomon (1745-1815), German violinist, impresario, and composer. His
first position was at the age of 13 as a violinist at the Bonn court. By 1764 he was
music director to Prince Heinrich of Prussia at Rheinsberg. Tbrough him he met Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-88) and became familiar with the music of J. S. Bach.
He later moved via Paris to London, where he made his first public appearance in
1781. He soon turned his attention to directing and promoting concerts, and arranged
subscription concerts in London from 1783. He was responsible for the visits of
Haydn to London in 1791-2 and 1794-5.
8. Salomon had promoted one of the first performances in England of Haydn's The
Creation at the King's Theatre on 21 Apr., at which SW had played the organ and
performed one of his own organ concertos between the acts. The performance under
discussion here did not take place. For the first London performances of Ile
Creation, see H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn: Chronicle and Works. The Years of
Me Creation' 1796-1800 (London, 1977), 572-7.
9. Frangois-Hippolyte Barth6lemon (1741-1808), French violinist and composer. He
moved to London in about 1761, where he enjoyed a long career as a performer on
the violin and a composer, mostly of theatre music. He was one of the leading
violinists of his age, much admired by Burney, who commented on his 'powerful
hand and truly vocal adagio'. He was a friend of Haydn's during his two visits to
London, and is said to have suggested the subject of The Creatio to him.
10. The 'Dixit Dominus' a 8, the two autographs of which (RCM, MS 639; BL, Add.
MS 71107, f. 35) are dated 13 Jan. 1800.
11. i. e. the Swedenborgian New Jerusalem Church, where Barth6lemon worshipped and
43

directed the music. SW's allusion is to the chapter room at Westminster Abbcy, so
k-z-ý
called because of the tapestries depicting scenes of Jerusalem on its walls. For
Buffidlemon's involvement with Swcdcnborgianism, see Charles Iligham, 'Francis
Barthilemon', New-Church Magazine, 15 (1896). 1-13.
12. The bottom of the leaf, consisting of the right-hand part of two lines and SW's close
and signature, is missing.
13. SW's postscript is at the top of the final page.
44

To [Charles Burney]'
[Highgatc], 12 Alay 1800
ALS, 2 pp. (UCSB)
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay:
Marybone.
Monday 121 of May.
1800.
I trust, my dear Sir, that no bad Omen threatens me for Friday next, 2 when
I fully purpose attending you at Ten o'Clock. - I know not any probable
Obstacle, excepting M" Salomon's Repetition of the Oratorio, 3 which if it
should happen, will- render it necessary for me to transfer my usual Business
on Thursday to Friday instead, & in that Case, I should be again disappointed:
but, by what I have just now heard, I conjecture that we shall not be able to
ensure a second Performance, M' Salomon being baulked of his Singers, who
indeed gave him Abundance of Trouble in the former Instance; &I am sorry
to add that a most malevolent Party Spirit appears to have raged against the
whole Undertaking, so that little Probability remains of any handsome
Encouragement during the Remainder of this Season.
The musical Publick seem at present to be oddly divided into three
Classes: they who allow nothing good but Handel, Corelli, and what are
absurdly called the old Masters -
(for how lately was it when even these were
Modems! ) - others, who will hear no other Musick than of Mozart, Haydn,
45

and the few excellent of our own Day: and the third august Society of
erta, raAEVOL 4 consists chiefly of those Admirers of Simplicity who relish no
other Strains than what proceeds from Mess" Ks & R, "
together with such Waltzes as can assist Tov TcYUQova&LO:
At least I guess you will thus far agree with me, that a very very few
constitute that little flock who "prove all things, and hold fast that which is
good.
I am always,
my dear Sir
your obliged Friend
& faithful Servant
S Wesley
Burney is identifled as the addressee of this letter by his daughter's characteristic
docketing (see SW to Burney, 28 Nov. 1799, n. 2).
2.16 May.
I
Salomon made a number of unsuccessful attempts to mount this performance: it was
also announced for 5 May and 9 June.
4. 'Experts'.
5. All except the first letter has been heavily scored through, but 'Kelly' is just
decipherable. For Michael Kelly (1762-1826), see SW to Charles Wesley jun., 15
Jan. 1807, n. 29.
6. All except the first letter has been heavily scored through; 'Rauzzini' is conjectural.
For Venanzio Rauzzini (1746-1810), see SW to Charles Wesley jun., 15 Jan. 1807,
30.
7. 'Dancing': not in Classical Greek, and apparently a coinage of SW's own.
46

8.1 lbess 5: 21.
47

To Joseph Payne Street Chesterrield Street, 18 August 1801
AT Q
A.,
3 pp. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Addressed: To I MI Street I N. 17.1 Mark Lane. I Tuesday Moming
Pmk: 18 AU 1801
Marybone.
Tuesday 18 Aue 1801
My dear ir
I believe that Saturday Week' will be the first Day in my Power to
appoint for meeting MI Bell's Party at Palmer's Green, 2& at present I know
of nothing very likely to prevent my Acceptance of his Invitation: I conclude
by your Letter that he wishes the Appointment of be made without Loss of
Time, therefore perhaps you will now speedily communicate to him this
Intelligence.
With respect to your late "Delirium" (for I am to suppose it now. over,
for which I am sorry, as it appears to have been so agreeable to you) I can
only say that I fully understand the Situation you describe, & although I have
not experienced it in consequence of our last Sunday's Recreation, yet I know
it to be a most pleasant occasional Effect of the to Nature which D"
-F-illip
Cadogarý talks about, but which (by the Way) will become less elastic &
forcible, & consequently less effective, if too frequently repeated. - However,
it did not seem to me as if you had secured to yourself any Right to become
48

so enlightened, enlivened, & metaphysicized by my Wine, for really we took
but a very moderate Dose of it, &, (if I am any Judge of my own State on
Sunday) I thought that we were all perfectly steady at the Hour of Parting. I
am truly vexed that W. D. ' should have excoriated any one of his precious
Limbs in returning from my Roof; but this you know being La Fortune de la
Guerre, it is in vain to fret about it.
I will be with you on Saturday nexe by half past 2, as I suspect that
Business is to be done before Dinner- I wish you to take me rightly about the
Sponsorship-- I could have no possible Objection to the Favour you design me
from any other Consideration than that of answering for Impossibilities. -
I
reallY look upon the Duty of a Godfather (admitting that it could be
performed) as one of the most solemn & obligatory in the whole theological
system but when I reflect on what I believe is (after all) the Truth, that no one
can be justly accountable for all the Sins and Imperfections of another, (he
having generally enow to answer for on his own Score) the Affair of Sponsor
becomes rather a Thing of complimentary Ceremony than of probable
Damnation: so having endeavoured. to quiet my Conscience (which is seldom
difficult to do when Gratification follows its Repose) "I promise & vow to
renounce" my Fear of Hell & to suffer my future Godson to take his own
Path, either thither or to the other Place, which however, I confess I should
rather wish him to prefe in , which I suspect that you will second my
Inclination. '
The Ladies are all sound, Wind & Limb, Miss R. " & my Mother
arrived here yesterday about half an Hour before me, &I went through my
49

Monday's Drudgery with great Christian Forbearance & Resignation.
With best Wishes to your whole House, I am
Dear Sir
Ever yours truly
S Wesley
1.29 Aug.
2. A village on the outskirts of London. Bell has not bcen identified.
3. William Cadogan, MD (1711-97), in his influential and frequently reprinted
Dissertation on the Gout and on all-Chronic Diseases (London, 1771).
4. Presumably William Drwnmer.
5.22 Aug.
6. Street's child, to whom SW was to be godfather, may have been Joseph Edward,
subsequently mentioned in SW to Street, 30 May 1806.
7. Not certainly identified: perhaps the Miss Richardson who attended SW's music party
on 10 Oct. 1801 (SW to his mother, 16 Oct. 1801 (Rylands, DDWes 6/49)), and
sang in the concert series in 1802 discussed in SW to Burney, [Feb. 1802].
-May
50

To Charles Burney Highgate, 11 November [1801]
ANS, 1 p. (Private collection of John Comyn)
Addressed: To I D' Bumey, I Chelsea College. I ThUrsday Morning
Pmk: 7 o'Clock
NO 12 1801
Highgate.
Wednesday.
Ill
of Nov'
I trust, my dear Sir, to be with you on Tuesday nexe at 10, & will arrange
Matters so as to steal half a Holiday; for I have to ask your Opinion & Advice
upon a Business of more Moment & Magnitude than Organ Voluntaries, 3
although it be intimately concerned with them - sat verburn sapiente- en
attendant,
Yours faidifully
sw
1. The year is given by the postmark.
2.17 Nov.
3. Probably the series of subscription concerts which SW was promoting with his
brother Charles in the coming season (see next letter).
4. 'A word is sufficiento the wise.
51

To [Charles Burneyf
[February-Nlay 180212
ATC
A.,
3 pp. (Osbom MSS 3, Box 12, Folder 867).
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay: 3
My dear Friend
Your kind Note I would sooner have acknowledged had an earlier
Moment from excessive Pressure of harassing Business been allowed me. -
"Nunc animo Opus, nunc Pectore firmo, ' is peculiarly applicable to my
present Affairs: of Difficulties & Dangers there is not now Zime to discourse;
we shall have more Leisure in future perhaps than we wish, for proving how
much better Things might have been.
Billingtorý would have laid us the golden Eggs; & would have been a
cheap Bargain at any Price: -
but this won't Mf
Lnow. 1
I wrote a Duet for the Organs, ' lately, which upon Trial, I find too
complicated for any Chance of general Approbation: --
We therefore think to
play one on Thursday next, adapted from the last Chorus in Esther, 10 (which
you know is as easily understood as the Coronation Anthem, )" & which will
be but little deserving of your particular Attention, having been so long
remembered: -- It will happe near the Finale of the Job, of which accept the
following Order,
1. Symphony. S. W. "
2. Glee. 3 Voices. C. W. 11
52

3. Song. Miss Richardson. " (Cimarosa)IS
4. Trio. Tenor, 16 Bassoon & Violoncello. Shield. 17 Holmes" & Lindley. 19
5. Song. M' Dusse160 (with the Harp). Sarti.
21
6. Organ Concerto. C. W. 1
21 Part
1. Symphony. Mozart. '
2. Song. Morelli. "
3. Concerto. Piano Forte.
Master Peile. 1 (Dussek)"
4. Duetto. M" Dussek & Mrs Cimador.
27
("Ah perdona, ") MoZart. 28
5. Duet. 2 Organs. '
6. Full Piece. Handel. (from the Ov. to Atalanta). "
Yours, my kind Friend,
Most faithfully
S. Wesley
1. Burney is identified as the addressee of this letter by his daughter's characteristic
docketing (see SW to Burney, 28 Nov. 1799, n. 2, and n. 3 below).
2. The discussion of the concert series (see n. 6) establishes that this letter was written
between February and May 1802; it is not clear, however, whether it was written
before the series started or during its course. lie
address portion of a letter to
Burney in SW's hand, dated 9 Mar. 1802 and postmarked 10 Mar. 1802 (NYPL
(Berg)), may belong to this letter; if so. it establishes the date. If the symphony by
53

SW mentioned here is the Symphony in B flat. on the other hand (see n. 12), the
programme can only be of the final concert of the series, and the letter can be dated
to late Apr. or early May.
3. This symbol is interpreted by Ribeiro as denoting a lettqr 'of tertiary interest'.
4. Not preserved.
5. 'Now courage is required, now a stout heart is needed': an adaptation of the sybil's
exhortation to Aeneas just before they enter the underworld in Virgil, &encid, vi.
621.
6. A series of six subscription concerts promoted by SW and CW at Hyde's Concert
Rooms, Tottenham Street was advertised in The Times on 29 Jan. 1802; it was to
begin on 4 Feb., with subsequent concerts on 25 Feb., II and 25 Mar., 22 Apr., and
6 May. No other contemporary evidence of this series has been found, but it is clear
from references in subsequent correspondence that it was not a success and resulted
in substantial financial loss for both SW and his brother. In a letter of 31 May 1811
to his brother Charles (BL, Add. MS 35012, f. 117), SW remembered 'those
concerts which failed at the Tottenham Street Rooms', and the refusal of many of the
performers to 'relax in any part of their demands'.
7. The leading English soprano Elizabeth Billington, n6e Weichsell Q 1765-8-1818) had
initially established her reputation in London during the 1780s and early 1790s. In
1794 she went to Italy, where she had many successes in Naples and Milan. She
returned to London in the summer of 1801 to great acclaim and resumed her career.
8. Mrs Billington, in her first full season in London since her return from Italy, would
have been a star attraction, but SW and CW had either been unable or had decided
not to secure her services. Long afterwards, SW's brother Charles remembered that
'the last and only Public Concert we had at the old Antient Music Room did not
answer, because we neglected to engage the Late Mrs Billington, who was just
arrived in England' (Charles Wesley jun. to John Langshaw jun., 11 Jan. 1827
(Emory); Wainwright, 86).
54

9. Not preserved: doubtless the duet included in the worklist appended to SW's obituary
in MW, where it is described as 'unpublished; the composer preferred this to the
other, and considered it his best composition for the organ.
10. The Lord our Enemy has slain', from Handel's oratorio EiLhel (? 1718, rev. 1732).
11. Handel's anthem 'Zadok the Priest', written for the coronation of George 11 in 1827.
12. Either one of the symphonies of 1784 written for the family concerts, or the
Symphony in B flat, SWs only mature work in the genre, the autograph of which
(BL, Add. MS 35011) is dated 27 Apr. 1802, and which was probably written for
and performed at the final concert in this series.
13. By Charles Wesley jun.: not identified.
14. Not identified; presumably the Miss Richardson who attended SW's music party on
10 Oct. 1801 (SW to his mother, 16 Oct. 1801 (Rylands, DDWes 6/49));
conceivably one of the four daughters of the playwright and poet Joseph Richardson
(1755-1803), one of the proprietors of Drury Lane Tbeatre, and MP for Newport,
Cornwall.
15. Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1801), Italian opera composer.
16. i. e. viola.
17. Presumably by William Shield (1748-1829), who also played the viola ('tenor'); not
identified. For Shield, see SW to Shield, ? 13 Sept. 1815.
18. The bassoonist James Holmes (1755/6-1820)(Doane; Matthews; Sainsbury).
19. The cellist Robert Lindley (1776-1855), the leading player of his generation (Grove6 .
20. Sophia Dussek, n6e: Corri (1775-1847), daughter of the composer, music publisher.
and teacher Domenico Corri (1746-1825), who had married Jan Ladislav Dussek (see
n. 25) in 1792. She was also well known as a harpist and pianist.
21. Giuseppe Sarti (1729-1802), Italian opera composer.
22. Charles Wesley jun.: perhaps one of his six Concertos, Op. 2 Cc. 1781).
23. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91); the symphony has not been identified.
24. The operatic bass Giovanni Morelli (fl. 1787-1815) QDD.
55

25. The pianist Joseph Stageldoir Peile (1787-1840) (BD).
26. Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812), pianist and composer. lie had fled France at the
time of the French Revolution, and had first appeared as a pianist in London in 1789.
27. Presumably the wife of the composer, singer, violinist, and music publisher
Giambattista Cimador (1761-1805), who had settled in London in 179 1. lie had gone
into partnership with Tebaldo Monzani around 1800 (Grove .
28. A duet from Act I of Mozart's La clemenza di Tit (1791). Sophia Dussek was
closely involved with the introduction of Mozart's music to London audiences: she
included 'Ali perdona' in her benefit concert on 23 Apr. 1800, and sang in the first
London performance of the Reguie in 1801. La clemenza di Tito was the first of
Mozart's operas to be performed in full in London, on 27 Mar. 1806.
29. The arrangement of the final chorus from Handel's Esther, discussed above.
30. The Overture to Handel's opera Atalanta (1736).
56

To Charles Stokes' [Mondonf, 2 October 1804
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 31764, f. 18)
Addressed: M" Stokes.
Dear Charles'
I am unable to account for the Reason of y' never having either called,
or written to me so long. --
You of Course know the Cause Yrself- I must
own that I believe if you had wished to have been in my Society (tho' it is
none of the best in my State of Health & Circumstances) you wd surely have
contrived Ways & Means long ere now of our meeting. -- You see I write as
one hurt at the Slight of a Person for whom he has a Regard. -
had I not, I
assure you I should not have thus remonstrated -I
am conscious of not
having done the civil Thing by the Coopers, " who wrote me the kindest
Invitation in the World. -
Illness & Distraction of Mind must, &I trust will
excuse -- let them know I am truly sensible for their Goodness.
-
You will I think give me some Answer upon this: --
had you been
disengaged to-day I would have gone out with you on a ramble somewhere
after 12 o'Clock. -
Should you return home by 1 o'Clock To-day & will leave a Note for
me, stating when or whether we are soon to meet, I will call at a Venture,
about 2.
Yrs truly
sw
57

Tuesday. Oct! 2.1804
Charles Stokes (1784-1839), pianist, organist, and composer of anthems, glees,
songs, and organ music. According to his own biographical sketch (BL, Add. MS
11730, ff. 204-6), he was admitted as a chorister at St Paul's Cathedral In 1792
through his godfather Samuel Webbe I, leaving the choir in 1798. Ile was a pupil
successively of Webbe, Charles Wesley jun., and SW. With SW and Vincent Novello
he gave the first performance of SW's Trio for Three Pianofortcs in 1811. Ile owned
several manuscripts of SW's music.
2. SW moved from his Highgate house in late spring 1803, probably as a result of
financial crises followinghis separation from Charlotte in (probably) late 1801.71icre
are few letters for the next two years or so. During much of this time SW appears
to have suffered from severe depression, and his address or addresses during this
period are not known.
3. SW's use of the Christian name in the salutation of a letter to a recipient outside his
immediate family is unparalleled, and suggests a particularly close relationship with
Stokes at this time.
4. Not certainly identified: possibly George Cooper (? 1783-1843), Assistant Organist
of St Paul's Cathedral.
58

To John George Graeffl Caniden Town, 21 May [1806?]2
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 60753, f. 120)
Addressed: To John George Graeff
Camden Town. 21 May.
My dear Friend,
At length I am enabled to announce to you the good News of my
having compleated the Transcript of Seb. Bach's inimitable & immortal
Preludes & Fugues, 3 for which Privilege I shall always consider myself
inexpressibly obliged, & particularly for the great Patience with which you
have excused my unavoidable Delay in returning your valuable Book. -- Had
I been Master of my own Time, you would have received your Volume with
many Thanks some Months ago, for if I could have devoted 4 Hours per Day
to copying, I -calculated that I could easily have transcribed from 6 to 8 Pages
without Inconvenience; but as my Attention is by Necessity principally
devoted to others, & their Improvement, instead of my own, I have been
compelled to snatch whatever moments could be stolen out of the 24 Hours,
& these were consequently irregular & uncertain. -
I was however so
detenninedly bent upon finishing the Job, in consequence of your very kind
Indulgence of so long a Loan, that it would have extremely vexed me to have
quitted it without Accomplishment, &I
have now one Proof among many
which we daily meet, of the Advantages resulting from steady Perseverance
59

in a rational Cause. -
As I wish that not a single Error may remain in my Manuscript, I shall
request the additional Favour that you will permit me to keep the Book to the
latter End of the next Week, during which Time I shall have sufficient
Opportunities to revise & compare the Copy with the Original, Note by Note. -
- You may depend on obtaining the latter before Saturday next.
I have likewise to trust that you will pardon my Deficiency in
Punctuality respecting the Kindness you did me in the pecuniary
Accommodation, -
The Sum would have been returned precisely at the
Tennination
4
of the Month (as stated & fully intended) if a great Man, who
is now in Affears E60 to me, & who gave me to expect it in the Month of
FebM= last, had nof chosen to delay his Payment.
-
The Money however is
as safe as if it were in my Pocket at this Moment, but still there is nothing
that teazes me more than the Necessity of the least Breach or Delay of an
Engagement, especially with a Friend for whom I have so high & so just an
Esteem as yourself.
With best Respects to M' Graeff & our young Friends,
believe me,
My dear Sir,
Most cordially & faithfully yours
S Wesley.
1. The flautist John George Graeff (c. 1762-post 1824) caxne to London around 1784,
where he became one of the most prominent flautists of his day and appeared
60

frequently as a concerto soloist. Ile was evidently a long-standing friend of SW,
although on the evidence of his infrequent appearances in the letters he and SW may
have met only occasionally. SW mentions him in a letter to his mother of 16 Oct.
1801 (Rylands, DDWes 6/49)) as having been a member of a music party at SW's
house in Highgate on 10 Oct. 1801 which also included Miss Richardson, Francis
Cramer, Pinto, and Moralt, 'who formed the sweetest Harmony consisting principally
of Mozart & Haydn's Musick, which of course they performed with the most
exquisite Precision & Effect'.
2. The year of this letter is suggested by SW's Camden Town address and his
discussion of making his own copy of the '48'. If this copy is the one mentioned in
SW to Burney, 12 Apr. [1808]. the year can only be 1806 or 1807. sw, s discussion
of his financial problems and money owed by a 'great man' (see n. 4), strongly
points to 1806, although 1807 must still be regarded as a possibility.
3. The two books of Das wohltemperiertes Clavie ,
BWV 846-93 (the '48') by J. S.
Bach (1685-1750). Each book consists of 24 preludes and fugues, one for each of the
major and minor keys. In his Reminiscences, SW stated that he was first introduced
to the '48' by George Frederick Pinto (1785-1806); this must have been some time
before 23 Mar. 1806, the date of Pinto's early death. It is apparent from SW's
remarks in later letters that Graeff's copy was of the edition of around 1801 by
Nigeli of Zurich. SW's manuscript copy is at BL, Add. MS 14330.
4. Probably Justinian Casamajor (1746-1820), a wealthy businessman with property near
Ridge, who is also mentioned in a number of family letters. In a letter to his mother
of I Apr. 1806 (Fitzwilliam), SW discussed problems which had arisen from the non-
payment of various amounts due to him, including E60 from Casamajor, which he
had at this stage decided to write off.
61

To Joseph Payne Street Camden Town, ' 30 May 1806
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Addressed: To I M' Street. I N. 17 1 Mark Lane I Friday Morný I p. p. 2.
Pmk: 30 MY < 180 >6
My dear Sir,
I have a little Scheme to propose, to which if you have any material
Objection, I will give it up without further Argument.
My son Charles' has lately been so diligent & assiduous in
endeavouring to improve himself in such Exercises as have appeared to me for
his future Benefit, that I judge him very meritorious of what is called a
Holiday or of any innocent Recreation for a few Hours on a leisure Day. -
Now I think I can manage to command Wednesday, June 4? & as Charles has
a great Desire to hear the Tower Guns fired, " he has asked me to permit him
to go thither that Day, to which I have consented; & my subsequent Notion
was, that if you were unengaged, we might contrive to pass the Remainder of
the Day entre nous trois, & what I thought of proposing was to go down to
B LIlin"s ate, 5 & dine upon some fresh Fish, if so be there should be any left
by that Time: to stay there just as long or as short as we might
find it
pleasant, & then stroll towards Chalk Farmý (which is the best Prospect I
know among the Tea-Gardens), & finally, if we were not quite sick of one
another's Company, repair to N. 9 Arlington Street, & take an unceremonious
62

Crust of Bread & Cheese. -- Here is the grand Plan of Operation, which if it
meet your Suffrage, shall certainly be put into Execution. --
If there were a
Possibility of changing his Majesty's Birth Day from June 4. "at 22 Minutes
past 2 in the Mom", ' I should have been glad,, becausd Wednesday is now one
of the Days on which I have the most oppressive Work but as I think I can
engage my Assistant' to mount Guard for me throughout the whole of the
Afternoon Business, I trust, that in Case of your Coincidence I shall be able
to make all smooth on the Occasion.
Your early Opinion & Decision upon this momentous Stratagem, will
oblige
My dear Sir,
Yours ever truly
S Wesley
P. S. I hope to be informed that your Son Joseph! is better than when we last
met.
9. Arlington Street. Camden Town I Friday 30. May. 1806.
SW moved to Arlington Street, Camden Town, some time before I Apr. 1806, when
this address appears on a letter to his mother (Fitzwilliam). Because of the paucity
of correspondence from the immediately preceding period, the date of the move is
impossible to establish. He and Charlotte appear to have been reconciled some time
in the early part of 1805, and their daughter Emma Frances was born. in Feb. 1806.
The move to Arlington Street can be presumed to have coincided with or to have
shortly followed their reconciliation. SW and Charlotte lived there until the final
breakdown of their marriage in early 1810.
63

2. SW's son, born 25 Sept. 1793. Following a recent financial crisis, SW had been
obliged to remove him from St Paul's School, and was now taking care of his
education himself.
3. The birthday of George 111.
4. It was (and is still) the custom to fire the guns at the Tower of London at noon on
the sovereign's birthday.
5. London's principal fish market, where most of the trade was done in the early hours
of the moming.
6. East of Primrose Hill, at the lower end of Haverstock Hill, not far from SWs house
in Camden Town. The tea gardens may have been those attached to Chalk House
Farm, an inn on the site of the present Chalk Farm Tavern, on England's Lane
(Encyclopedia of London, under 'Chalk Farm').
7. A quotation from 'Hurly burly, blood and thunder', a 'Burlesque Ode for the
Birthday of George IIF by Edward Thurlow (1731-1806), Lord Chancellor 1778-92,
which SW later set for three voices. It concludes: 'This is a day for Fun and drinking
/ This is a day for dancing and sinking I For on this day Big George was bom / At
twenty three minutes past two in the mom'. Thurlow, a keen amateur musician, was
the patron of R. J. S. Stevens, and is frequently mentioned in his Recollections.
(2NB; Argent, passi
8. Possibly Matthew Cooke (1760/1-1829), who was SW's assistant in 1809: see SW
to Smith, 23 Apr. [1809].
9. Joseph Edward; he may have been the son mentioned in SW to Street, 18 Aug. 1801.
64

To Charles Wesley Junior Camden Town, 15 January 1807
ALS, 11 pp.
(Rylands, DDWF 15/12)
Dear Charles,
I should certainly have sent you a Line long before now, ' but have
been waiting an Opportunity of accompanying it with a Copy of the Glee, '
which you desired, as also an Epitome (for I have not had Time to transcribe
the Score) of the Responses in. the Litany, ' &I thought you would also be
pleased in my adding a Copy of a new "Dixit Dominus" for three Voices,
which was performed lately at what is called the Concentores Sociely, s of
which you may have heard, and which consists solely of 12 select musical
Professors, each of whom is expected to produce a new Canon, and a new
Glee, on whatever
Day he happens to be chosen President.
-
My Invitation
thither was as a Visitor only, from Elliott' (Master Elliott in Days of yore)
who is a very amiable sensible Man, &I need not say much to you of his
Skill and Taste in singing. - What will I think amuse you in the present
Instance is, that at the broaching of this Dixit D5-s were aiding and assisting
Mess" Harri & Greatorex, 8 together with Stevens, 9 Callcott, 10 little Master
Tommy, " cum septern alfis qux nunc prxscribere longum est. 12 In fine, the
I
Verse made *a great Splas , or as the English French Phrase is, a great
Sensation. Old Horsefall" was Bawler Maximus, as usual, & he was so
transported that I feared he would be seized with some mortal Spasm or other,
which (as I want no more Deaths laid at my Door) I was glad to find averted.
65

14
I know not the Rules of your Harmonic Club,
therdore cannot
detennine whether they perform such a Thing as I have been writing about, "
but if they admit Latin & Scripture among festive & Cytherean Lays, " & you
think it would suit any of their Voices, you are quite welcome to make what
Use you will of it, pp-ly that I should by no means like any Copies to get
abroad, until it be published, (in Case I should so resolve) for various
Reasons, among which the Danger (or rather the Certainty) of its being
mangled & mutilated in Transcription is not the least. --
You remember what
a perfect Scaramouch" the leamed Miss Abrams's made of Goosy GanderI19
And now to the Contents of your Letter. 20 I have no Objection to my
Music appearing at any of the first-rate Shops in Bath, (for there, as well as
elsewhere, I presume are Orders of Dignity), but I should not like them to be
set in an inferior Window, as if soliciting Purchase. - If the Person you
21
mention is inclined to order a Number of Copies, either of the Voluntaries,
the new Glee, ' or whatever else I may yomit out next, (I would have said sh-
-te, but the Word is already engaged by M' Geminiani)l & will signify his
Wish either by you or otherwise, it shall be speedily complied with.
Apropos of Geminiani. - Master Jacky Owen, Arch-Deacon of York, 24
own Brother in Law to John Beardmore Esq' Crewel Manufacturer (not
cruel Malefactor) Milk Street Cheapside hath lately fallen deeply in Love with
Geminiani's Solos, & his Niece" having recommenced her musical Studi
with me, was desirous of knowing whether they were practicable in the Forin
they appear for the Violin? to which I ventured to answer in the Negative; but
added, that I knew they were to be obtained, (altho' scarce) as adapted for a
66

keyed Instrument by the Author himself. 27_ I also promised to get them for
her if possible. - Now I really am rather at a Loss to say how, for modem
Music Shops disdain such Trash, & those who love such obsolete Stuff arc so
bigotted. to their fond Prejudices that you might as easily wrest a Bone from
Cerberus, 28 or a good hannony from K-11-y, 21 as persuade them to part with
a Copy on any Terms. - therefore I desire your Advice & Assistance upon this
Point.
I dare say that your Selection by RauzzinPI was a good one. - You
have already discovered (I presume) that he is thoroughly versed in every
Species of good Music, & that he knows & values appropriately the
everlasting Bulwarks of Canto Fermo, as well as the Refinements of those
who have since (by Degrees) almost entirely anatomized the chromatic (&
even the enhannonic) Scale.
I am glad to hear so favourable an Account of
D' Wel Health.
- I
wish we could say the same of his worthy & learned Contemporary IX B. 32
With regard to a real Judge of Music disliking Haydn & Mozart, it is
a Thing so strange to me, that I have been freqiiently cndeavouring how to
account for it. -- Thus far is certain, that the Sounds which we have been
earliest delighted with, will claim a Preference, from the very Circumstance
you instance, to wit, the Ideas annexed to those Things of which they remind
us, & for the same Reason, there are certain Strains, (even in modem
Authors) which altho' not eminently beautiful, yet as they immediately bring
me into the Situation where I first heard them, they exceedingly distress and
torment me.
67

How far Taste in Music is inherent, I will not attempt here to enquire,
but sure it is, that Taste (however acquired) may be wonderfully improved by
Cultivation, & Acquaintance with the best Authors; &I have remarked, that
even those who have in Words reprobated all modem Innovations in musical
Style, yet when they came to write, imperceptibly slipped into several of the
very Phrases with which they professed to wage War.
Haydn & Mozart must be heard often before they are thoroughly
understood, (as it strikes me) even by those who have heard much Music of
more gradual Modulation; but I do think, that when the Ear & Mind become
perfectly habituated to their rapid Successions of Hannony, the Feast is rich
indeed, & the Surprize is still maintained, notwithstanding Farniliari , which
to me is a very extraordinary Circumstance.
You speak of a Movement in Handel's original MS. " I have lately seen
a very curious Original of Marcello's Psalms, " which become of Course more
valuable from their being almosi impossible to read. -- They were placed upon
a Desk before a young Friend of ours, who was wholly puzzled, & no Marvel
(as J. W. 35
would say) for really they might have made ArgpS 6 stare to no
Purpose.
By the Way I think very moderately of Marcello, as far as Spirit &
Effect are concerned. - His Writing is chaste; his Style generally solemn, &
his Harmonies occasionally rich- but he wants the Sweetness of Steffani the v17
Strength of Purcell, " & certainly the Fire of Handel. -
If I am not mistaken,
BoycO' thought that Marcello has been over-rated. -- Whoever thinks so, I am
quite of his Mind. 68

Now to the Business of the Litany. -
Little Master Tommy, altho' he
has been a Year or two (at least) the doughty Organist of Paul's Church, ' yet,
it seems, has never studied those Parts of the Church Service called Rubricks,
one of which directs that the Litany is to be read or sung on all Sundays,
Wednesdays, & Fridays throughout the Year. -- Christmas-Day, you may
remember, happened on a lbursday: therefore the Consequence was that no
Litany was to be had for Love or Money, the latter of which I could not offer,
the former, among Musicians & Church Dignitaries I was not Fool enough
to expect.
41
However, to do Justice to the Sub-Dean, & Honour to myself all unde
one, I must observe, that he wrote me a very handsome Excuse for the
Disappointment, &a Panegyric upon the Composition (which it seems he had
heard in private) & added his Testhnony of Approbation concerning the
Manner in which it was produced.
Attwood has since been anxious to have it sung, on aa Sunday I may
_.
appoint. - I shew him my Indifference upon this Head, by leaving it from
Time to Time without fixing any Day-- But he means very well, tho'
occasionally a Marplot, & one never can be thoroughly angry with an honest
Blunderer.
All I regretted was, the Disappointment of some People, who I know
went to Church on Purpose. - It only remains now with me to perform the
said Article, together with your Sanctus, whenever most convenient to myself.
I hope that Dr Shepherd 42 is recovered of his Gout. You - remember
my Father's speech to Petit AndreWS43__ W Andrews, pray where did you
69

pick up your Greek? I thought that a Man of Fashion had nothing to do with
Greek. " So I say, "Where did D" Shepherd pick up his Gout? I thought that
a Man of Temperance had nothing to do with Gout. "
He is a very sensible (& evidently a learned) Man, with a Degree of
Energy & Originality which to me were excessively interesting: he is just the
Man whom I could hear talk for four Hours together, & be sorry that he
would not talk six.
I send herewith a few Lines to M' Bowen, 44 which you will forward
at your first convenient Opportunity.
Pray give my old Love & good Will in return to W Millgrove, " & ask
him whether he remembers my pestering him about a Solo of Giardini,
beiziminiz
0
Im NJ -0.
(--.,
P
I
You are very sarcastic (tho' very just) about a certain English-Gcnnan-
Musician-Divine. 47_ You describe him between Bath & Bristol: is this to
express his halting between the Love of this World & the next? - I do not
wonder that not only musical Professors, but all Professors "stare at him, &
know not what to make of his odd way of Humour. "-
I do not think if we had seen S' Paul personating Punch, we should
have extremely respected his Apostleship.
- I would have a Tom T-dman
remain a Tom T-dman, & not carry on the Perfumery Trade at the same
Time.
70

I called on Gray the Organ Builder, 48 who has been closely confined
by reason of an Accident he met in coming out of his Carriage by which he
has hurt his Leg so as to have been laid up for this Month past. -- The organ
of MHoare49cannot be finished (in Consequence of this Mischance) for some
Weeks to come, therefore, of Course, the Remuneration due to you" will be
deferred till this Event shall take Place.
John Cramer5l has lately sent me some charming Scraps of his for the
Piano Forte, among which is a Toccata, which if you can get at Bath, I think
I can answer that you will be much delighted with it. _j2
The Subject is quite
in an Organ Style, & conducted throughout in the most Cantabile Way, altho'
very difficult in various Passages, from Ahe great Number of double
Semiquavers in the Bass: but it is a Nut worth the cracking.
If Fame & Flattery would make a Man fat, Sir John Falstaff would be
a Shrimp to me, as far as musical Flumme
is concerned. -
My Nerves
having been (thank God) in a less agitated State for some Months past than I
have know them to be for Years, the Consequence is, that I have been enabled
to bear the Bustle of Society with much less Perturbation of Spirits than
heretofore, so that I have frequently mingled in those Sort of public Parties,
wherein alone a Man is likely to be talked of to any Pulpose, that is, where
he hath the Opportunity, (if the Will be consentient) of opening whatever there
may be of Mind or of Genius belonging to hhn, & where he is sure of being
heard by the candid as well as the envious Critic. -
53
I attended the first Meeting of the Harmonists Society, (to whom I
presented the Glee as you will see by the Title), & Stevens, who is, as
71

Madan" would call him, "a mighty gentlemanly Man" soon after dinner
proposed to the PresidenOl my giving them a Piece on the Piano Forte (which
is an unusual Thing at a merely Glee Party) & which Hint was received with
a great Fuss of Clapping & the usual Concomitants.
-:- I was in a very good
56
Humour, & played much to my own Satisfaction.
On Sunday last, 51 Carnaby" & myself went down together to Parson
Barry" at Dulwich, where we met the most hospitable Reception.
- - There
were 9 Guests invited besides ourselves, & most of them very sensible,
agreeable People. You know what a very clever Musician Camaby is, & he
gave us some vocal Compositions of his which were highly finished, &
extremely delightful. - He sang among the Rest, one which begins "Man can
thy Lot no brighter Soul allow"' which he says you much approved, & he
boasts every where of your good Word. -- He carries himself pretty high
among ordinaly Professors, & there are but few among them by whose Praise
he is gratified.
I have promised to go on Sunday nexel to the Abbey, 62after which I
am to dine with RoV Cooke, " the Organist, the Son of the D' whom you
remember. -- He is very knowing in Music, & is a pleasant Man when you get
at hhn, tho' he is rather shy & reserved at first. --
Callcott having heard that
am to play at the Abbey on Sunday has engaged John Cramer to come too,
so that I must mind my P's & Q's in such "worshipful Society. "- The Touch
of the Organ" is remarkably good; indeed rather too for me. - It is a
_Iigh-t
complete contrast with S'Paul's, 65 where you may remember that the Keys are
all as stubborn as Fox's Martyrs, ' & bear almost as much buffetting.
72

This letter reminds me of the Story of the Man who was asked to sing
after Dinner in Company. -
He was a long while before he could be prevailed
on to comply, but when he began, he continued for six Hours. -
There was a Time when I was very fond of writing long Letters; but
it was when I had few of the Cares of this Life to distract or disturb my
Attention. - The Heart was light & gay, & every Path was Bowling Green: 67
but when the Mind has its Way hedged up with the Thorns & Brambles of
Trouble, Disappointment, & Loss, & must often plunge, nolens volens into
the Ruts of pecuniary Embarrassment, it is Odds but that a great Majority of
the Brains become confused, if not oppressed into Stupidity, or sublimated
into Madness.
When two Persons, each wishing well to the other, are separated in
Distance by Circumstances, epistolary Communication being the only possible
one, the Trouble vanishes in the Consideration of a mutual Agr6men , one to
the Writer, & the other to the Reader.
The domestic Occurrences, of Births, Deaths, Marriages, Promotions
&c in the Vicinity of Marybone, 68 which have occurred lately, I mean to
recount in my Mother's Letter, to whom I shall write, having finished thiS. 69
D1 Callcott, who
is indefatigable in searching out every Information he
can obtain concerning Musick, & having conceived a high Notion of me as a
Greek Scholar (which shows how People may deceive themselves). has
besought me to peruse a Greek Author, (AristoxenesýO for the Purpose of
discovering if possible whether Rameau" is not mistaken in asserting that the
ancient Radicals of B, C, D, &E (the Tetrachord) were G, C, G, C, (thus -
73

making the Mode Majo
or whether the Ancients did not consider tlicir
Fundamentals to be rather E, A, D. A, & so the Mode was originally Minor. -
- Whether I shall be able to poke out any satisfactory Intelligence from the
Author in question is to me a Doubt, but I have promised him what Assistance
I can render, & he is so good a Creature that no one but a morose & savage
Mind could bear to refuse him any Request it could rýasonably grant.
I went yesterday to D' Crotch's72 Lecture: " it was upon the distinct
Merits of Pleyel '14
Kozeluch, 75 & Mozart. --
Ile Lag of the dime, he much
underrated, in my OPinion, & the first, he much exceeded the Trudi in
panegyrising. -- To Kozeluch he appeared to me to render exact Justice, &
impartial Praise.
His playing a Score is very extraordinary. - I cannot understand how
he manages to play all the Parts of a Symphony of Mozart so that you do not
miss the Absence of any one Instrument, whether stringed or wind.
I remain
in Haste
(tho' certainly not in short)
Dear Charles
Yours very truly,
S. Wesley.
Camden Town 1 15 Jany 1807
1. Charles Wesley jun. was in Bath with his mother: see SW to his mother of this date
(BL, Add. MS 35012, f. 15).
No doubt 'When Bacchus, Jove's Immortal Boy'. a setting of a translation by
Thomas Moore of an Ode by Anacreon, performed in Bath at the Society of
74

Harmonists on 18 Dec. 1806 and subsequcntly publishcd (scc n. 22).
3. i. e. a short score; not preserved.
4. The autograph of SW's setting of the Litany Rcsponscs, datcd 29 Nov. 1806, Is at
BL, Add. MS 71107; for plans for the first pcrformance, sce n. 41.
5. 'Me Conccntorcs Society was active from around 1798 to 1812 and from around
1818 to 1847. The autograph of SW's three-part setting of 'Dixit Dominus'discusscd
here (BL, Add. MS 71107, f. I 11), notes that it was 'presented & performed' at the
meeting of the Concentores on 27 Dec. 1806. In his journal. R. J. S. Stevens records
SW's presence on this date, but states that only the compositions of Samuel Webbe
were performed: 'the rule of this Society, when any member is President for the
day'. Stevens also records SW's presence at the previous meeting on 18 Dec.
(Argent, 150,291).
6. James Elliott (1783-1856), singer and composer. chiefly of gices. lie had appeared
(as 'Master Elliott') as a boy treble soloist at the 1799 Birmingham festival, and had
a successfu later career as a bass. He was later to appear with SW as one of the
soloists at the Tamworth Festival (Brown and Stratton).
7. Samuel Harrison (1760-1812), a leading tenor of the day, well known from his
appearances over the years at the Handel Commemoration, the Concert of Ancient
Music, and the oratorio concerts. In 1791 he founded the Vocal Concerts with
Charles Knyvett. He was also active in the world of glee singing: he was elected to
membership of the Catch Club in the same year as Stevens, and was a founder
member of the Glee Club (Grove'; Argent, 292-3).
8. lbomas Greatorex (1758-1831), singer, organist, and teacher. After apprenticeship
with Benjamin Cooke and a period as organist of Carlisle Cathedral, he settled in
London and became particularly associated with the Concert of Ancient Music, where
he succeeded Joah Bates as conductor in 1793. lie joined Harrison and Knyvctt in
re-establishment of the Vocal Concerts in 1801, and became organist of Westminster
Abbey in 1819 (Grov ; Argent, 292-3).
75

9. Richard John Samuel Stevens (1757-1837), English gicc-composcr. teacher, and
lecturer. Ile was organist at St Michacl's, Cornhill (1781), the Temple Church
(1786) and the Charterhouse (1796), Gresham Professor of Music (1801), and music
master at Christ's Hospital (1808), where he was succeeded in 1810 by SWs friend
and future son-in-law Robert Glenn. His somewhat plodding Recollection ,a
condensation of five volumes of diaries kcpt between 1802 and 1837. are nonetheless
a valuable and detailed source of information on his activities and the various musical
circles in which he moved (Grove'; Argent). For an astringent assessment of his
position in the musical society of his day, see Ehrlich, Music Profession, 32-5.
10. John Wall Callcott (1766-1821). organist, teacher, composer, music historian, and
theorist. A noted composer of glees, he had in his youth been notorious for the
single-mindedness of his approach to the annual Glee Club competitions, for which
in one year he had submitted no fewer than 120 entries. In later life, his interests
turned increasingly to music theory. His projected history and dictionary of music
were abandoned following his mental collapse in Apr. 1808, after which he was
confined to a lunatic asylum near Bristol. II is daughter Elizabeth married SW's near-
contemporary William Horsley in 1813 (Grove' .
11. Attwood.
12. 'With seven others, whom it would take too long to describe'. In addition to those
mentioned by SW, Stevens records the presence of the glee composer Reginald
Spofforth (1768-70-1827) and Robert Cooke (1768-1814). organist of Westminster
Abbey.
13. James Horsfall: not otherwise identified (Argent).
14. Tlie Bath Harmonic Society.. founded by Henry Harington (see n. 31). Charles
Wesley jun. is known to have directed a concert of glees at its Ladies' Night at the
Lower Assembly Rooms on 19 Dec. 1806 (programme and texts at Drew (shelfmark
BY 321 A5 G555g)), and it was no doubt for a subsequent meeting of this society
that SW was offering his new 'Dixit Dominus' setting.
76

15. i. e. SW's setting of 'Dixit Dominus'.
16. Cytherea was Venus, the goddess of love; SW's 'Cytherean Lays' are therefore gices
on the subject of love.
17. This use of 'scaramouchl, evidently meaning a poor performance or a botched job,
is not recorded in OED.
18. Probably Harriett Abrams (j. 1758--c. 1822), the best known and most popular of three
Abrams sisters who all sang professionally at this time; the others were Thcodosia
(_q. 1765-pgs 11834) and Eliza (g. 1772-f,. 1830) (Grove
19. Presumably SW's three-voicc setting of this popular song, composed j. 1781 and
published c. 1800.
20. Not preserved.
21. SWs Op. 6 organ voluntaries, the first six of which had been published individually
by this time.
22. 'When Bacchus, Jove's Immortal Boy', published as A New Glee. for three voices
performed at the Society of Harmonists. on Thursday Decr 18th. ISO , rcviewcd
in MM, Feb. 1807.
23. Francesco Geminiani (1687-1762), Italian composer, virtuoso violinist, and theorist,
who after an early career in Italy settled in London in 1714 and established a
considerable reputation as a violin virtuoso, composer, and teacher. In the 1730s he
made two lengthy visits to Dublin and moved there permanently in 1759.
24. John Owen (1773-1824), matric. Hertford College, Oxford (1793). BA (1797). MA.
Christ's College, Cambridge (1801), Archdeacon of Richmond (1801). Rector of East
Horsley and of St Beanet's, Paul's Wharf (1802), later Chaplain General to the
Armed Forces (Vem; GM, 18241,18).
25. SW's reference appears to be to Lose2h Beardmore (1745/6-1829), listed in
commercial directories of the period as a wholesale hosier with premises at 38 Milk
Street, Cheapside. He was a prominent Methodist who had been a personal friend of
John Wesley and was one of the trustees of the City Road Chapel. tic had married
77

Mary Owen (1750-1809), presumably John Owen's sister, in 1776. Their daughters
Mary (1778/9-1838) and Frances (1789/90-1868), were pupils of SW- Other
Beardmorcs who appear in directories and membership lists at this time were
probably members of the saxnc family: Thomas Beardmore of 4 Castle Alley,
Cornhill, was a contributor to the library of the Royal Institution, and George
Beardmore of Crown Office Row, Temple, was elected to membership of the
Madrigal Society on 13 Mar. 1810. Frances Mary Beardmore (1840-1921). a
member of a later generation of the f=ily,
was married to the poet and man of
letters Austin Dobson (1840-1921), and SW's two letters to Mary Beardmore are
preserved with other family papers in the Austin Dobson collection at London
University.
Also included in this collection arc some letters to John Owen
(Stevenson, City Road, 384-5; commercial directories).
26. i. e. John Owen's niece, either Mary or Frances Beardmore.
27. Pi&es de Clavecin. tWe des diff6rens Ouvrages de Mr. F. Gerniniani. adartees 12ar
NY meme A cet Instrument (London, 1743. reissued g. 1780), or The Second
Collection-of
Pieces for the Harpsichord. Taken from different Works of -G.
Geminiani. and adapted by Himself to that Instrument (London, 1762) (QPLI).
28. In Greek mythology, the dog with three heads which guarded the entrance to Hades;
here, evidently the nickname of one of SW's acquaintances. For another reference,
see SW to Jacob, 28 May 1809.
29. The Irish tenor, composer, theatre manager, and music publisher Michael Kelly
(1762-1826), best known for his Reminiscences (1826) and for having in his youth
created the roles of Don Curzio and Don Basilio in Mozart's Le noz7e di Firaro.
Following his return to London in 1787 he pursued a successful career as a singer
and composer of theatre music. As a composer, 'he commanded a limited but prolific
vein of melodic invention and seems to have relied on others for harmony and
orchestrations' (Grove' . Ilomas Moore commented in 1801 that 'Poor Mick is
rather an imposer than a composer. He cannot mark the time in writing three bars
78

of music: his understrappcrs, however, do all that for him'.
30. Venanzio Rauzzini (1746-1810), Italian soprano castrato. composcr, and
harpsichordist. Ile moved to London from Italy In 1774 and sang regularly at the
King's 11catre from 1774 to 1777. Ile then moved to Bath, whcre he managed
concerts at the New Assembly Rooms (Groy ; M. Sands. 'Vcnanzio Rauzzinl -
Singer, Composer, Traveller', MI. 94 (1953). 15,108).
31. Henry Harington, MD (1727-1816). doctor, musician and author, matric. Quccn's
College Oxford (1745); BA (1749), MA (1752). MI) (1772). While at Oxford he
joined an amateur musical society founded by William Hayes, the Professor of
Music, membership of which was restricted to those who could read music at sight.
He set up in medical practice at Wells in 1753 and moved to Bath in 1771, where in
addition to continuing to practise medicine he became in turn an alderman,
magistrate, and mayor, and founded the Bath Harmonic Society. Although an
amateur, he was a noted composer of glees. many of which appear in the anthologies
of the period, and one of which is still known as a hymn tune under the alternative
titles 'Retirement' and 'Harington' (DNB; Grove 6
32. Burney.
33. Possibly one of the collection of Handel autographs owned by Richard. Viscount
Fitzwilliam (1745-1816), to which Charles had access.
34. Benedetto Marcello (1686-1739), Italian composer, writer, and theorist. The Psalms
referred to here were his settings of the first fifty psalms in paraphrases by his friend
G. A. Giustianini, published in Venice in eight volumes between 1724 and 1726,
which became widely known and went. into several subsequent editions, including an
English one of 1757. SW's 'very curious original', whether an autograph or a first
edition, has not
been identified.
35. John Wesley.
36. In Greek mythology, a monster with a hundred eyes.
37. Agostino Steffani (1654-1728), Italian composer.
79

38. Henry Purcell (1659-1695), English composer.
39. The English composer William Boyce (1711-79). who had known both SW and
Charles as boys, and whose views would have been well known to them.
40. Attwood had been organist of St Paul's Cathedral since 1796.
41. As is clear from a letter from SW to his mother of Dec. 1806 (Rylands, DDWes
6/50), the original plan had been to perform SW's setting of the Litany Responses
on Christmas Day 1806, along with the Sanctus setting of his brother Charles: 'I
wanted to have found the Sanctus of my Brother, which he wrote, & wished to have
performed at St Paul's- this I think may be easily done, on Christmas Day, If I can
but get at it in Time, & that must be soon, because Attwood has been very urgent
for my Litany, which I have now sent him. & which he is so desirous of having
wcll-performcd, that he chuscs to have it well studied previously. - This is kind, &
handsome; &I wish the same by the Sanctus in Question. ' SW here explains why the
projected Christmas Day performance failed to take place. The Litany Responses
were first performed on Easter Day (29 Mar. ): see SW to Charles, 21 Mar. 1807.
Charles's Sanctus has not been traced.
42. Dr Edward Sheppard (1731-1813) of Chatham Row, Bath, an old friend of the
Wesleys, and a well-known and somewhat e=ntric
figure in Bath. A number of
letters from him to SW's sister Sarah are preserved at Rylands; in one, dated 16
Nov. 1804 (DDWF 26/66), he proposed marriage to her.
43. James Pettit Andrews (c_. 1737-1797). magistrate, historian, and antiquarian, author
of History of Great Britain connected with the Chronolozv of Europe from Caesar's
Invasion to the Accession of Edward VI (1794-5) and Ilistory of Great Britain from
the death of Henry Vill to the Accession of James VI of Scotland (1796); he also
contributed many papers on topographical subjects to Archneologi and CM (DNB).
44. Not identified: evidently a family friend in Bath.
45. Not identified: evidently a family friend in Bath.
46. The Sonata no. 4 in A of his Sei Sonate, op. 1.
80

47. Not certainly identified, but probably Latrobe.
48. William Gray (c. 1757-1821) (Grove'-, Grove' .
49. Not certainly idcntiried, but probably a member of the celebrated banking family of
this name, several of whom were patrons of the arts and enthusiastic amatcur
musicians (see also SW to Jacob, [24 Nov. 18091. Ile three partners in I lcnry I loarc
and Co., the family firm, at this time were Ilenry Iloarc of Mitcham (1750-1828),
William Ilenry lloarc (1776-1828). and Henry Hugh Iloare (1762-1841) ([Ilenry
Pcrcgrine Rennie Hoare], floare's B. -mk: -A
Record 1672-1955: no-Story of a
Private Bank (London, 1955), 41-2). The organ has not bccn traced.
50. CW's commission for rccorruncnding Gray to Iloarc.
51. Johann Baptist Cranier (1771-1858). composer. pianist, and publisher, the son of
Wilhelm Cramer (1746-99). lie studied with J. S. Schroder from 1780 to 1783 and
then for one year with Clemcnti, who exerted a decisive influence on his musical
character. He made his London debut In 1781. and quickly established himself as an
outstanding performer. He made extensive foreign tours in 1788-91 and 1799-1800.
After 1800 his career was almost entirely in England, although he made another tour
in 1816-18. His playing was highly influential on several generations of pianists, and
Beethoven regarded him as the finest pianist of his day. As a prolific composer,
mostly of piano music, he liked to regard himself as a latter-day Mozartian: Grove'
describes his music as combining 'a conservative bias with the most advanced,
idiomatically pianistic passage-work' and as 'nearly always skilful, pleasant and
sophisticated'. He entered the music publishing business in 1805 (Grove .
52. A Collection of Rondos. Airs with Variations and Toccat .
published in separate
numbers between 1805 and 1807 (Grove' .
The Toccata in G (No. 7 In the
collection) had been advertised in The Times for 13 Nov. 1806 (Momas B. Milligan
and Jerald Graue, Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1850); A nemitic Catilogue of his
jVorks (Stuyvesant, NY, 1994), item 12.05).
53. A small glee club founded in 1794 by R. J. S. Stevens and three of his friends,
81

which met in alternate weeks during the winter for dinner and glees. Ile meeting In
question was the one on 18 Dec., when SW's glee 'When Bacchus, Jove's Immortal
Boy' was performed.
54. Presumably Martin Madan (1756-1809), son of SW's godfather the Rcvd Martin
Madan (1725-90) (Falconer Madan, Tbc Midan Familyand Maddcns In Irclind and
England: A llisiorical Account (Oxford, 1933), 118-19).
55. Probably the Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), sixth son of George 111.
56. R. J. S. Stevens recorded this occasion In his Recollections: Tuesday, Dec. 18th,
was the first meeting of the Harmonists Society this Season. NIr Samuel Wesley was
one of our Visitors. After dinner, being perfectly collected, and not in the least
flushed with liquor (his usual practise at this time of his life) he played on the Piano
Forte, some of the most ingenious and astonishing Combinations of I farmon ,
that
I ever heard. By way of Finale, to his Extemporary, he took the burthcn of. 0 strik
the ham [a popular Trio by Stevens), and made as simple and pleasing a movement
on its subject, that we were all delighted. A rare instance of his wonderful abilities'
(Argent, 150,293).
57.11 Jan.
58. William Carnaby (1772-1839), admitted Trinity Hall, Cambridge (1805), Mus. B.
(1805), Mus. D. (1808), was a chorister at the Chapel Royal under James Nares and
Edmund Ayrton and was subsequently organist of Eye and Huntingdon before settling
in London some time before 1808. lie composed a good deal of vocal and piano
music (Grove; DNB; Venn).
59. Probably Edward Barry, MD. DD (1759-1822), religious and medical writer. Ile
son of a Bristol doctor, he gained his MD at St Andrews, but 'always preferring
theology to physic', was later ordained Into the Church of England. lie was for
several years curate of St Marylebone and 'one of the most popular preachers in
London'. lie was also grand chapWn to the Freemasons QNI)). lie was probably
one of the two Barry brothers mentioned in SW to Street, 18 Oct. 1799.
82

60. Not traccd.
61.18 Jan.
62. i. e. Westminster Abbey.
63. Robert Cooke (1768-1814) had succeeded his father Dcnjamin Cooke (1734-93) as
organist of St Martin in the Fields in 1793, and had become Organist and Mastcr of
the Choristers at Westminster Abbey (posts his father had also hcld) in 1802.
64. By Christophcr Shridcr, built for the coronation of Gcorge 11 in 1727 (Bocringcr, iii.
258).
65. By 'Fathcr' Smith, g. 1700 (Bocringcr, ii. 152-7).
66. Actes and Monuments of these latter Perillous days. touching matters of the Churc
p
popularly known as the. Book of Martyrs, by John Foxe (1516-87) first published In
Strasbourg in 1559 and in an English translation in 1563 (OCE
.
67. The source of this quotation or proverbial saying has not been traced.
68. i. e. Marylebone, where SW's mother, brother, and sister lived. By this time they had
moved the short distance from Chesterfield Street to Great Woodstock Street.
69. SW's letter of this date to his mother is at BL, Add. MS 35012, f. 15).
70. Aristoxenus (b. 375-36OBC), Greek music theorist, parts of whose Harmonics were
included in Marcus Mcibornius's Antiquae musicae auctorcs septern. Gracce c
latiLne, 2 vols. (Amsterdam, 1652). from which source SW no doubt intended to
study them. For Burney's discussion of Aristoxenus, see Ilisto
L 441-5; Mercer,
L 349-52.
71. Jean-Philippe Runeau (1683-1764). whose Traitf de I'hamonie- reduite A ses
principes natUrels (Paris, 1722; English translation, London, 1737) and Nouveau
syWme de-music tMorictue (Pads, 1737) were both highly influential (Grove' .
72. William Crotch (1775-1847) had begun his musical career as a child prodigy. After
early concert tours and a period in Cambridge as assistanto John Randall. the aged
Professor of Music, he moved in 1788 to Oxford. lie was appointed organist at
Christ Church, Oxford in 1790, and in 1797 became Professor of Music on the death
83

of Philip Hayes. Between 1800 and 1804 he gave several courses of lectures on
music in Oxford, and their success led to him being invited to lecture at the rcccntly
founded Royal Institution of Great Britain. Ile movcd to London late in 1805, and
gave no fewer than fiyc courses of lectures at the Royal Institution In 1806 (J.
Rennert, William Crotch (Laycnham, 1975); Kasslcr, 'Lectures', 15).
73. This was the eleventh of a course of thirteen lectures at the Royal Institution which
Crotch had started late in 1806. The text Is at the Norwich Record Office (Kasslcr,
'L, ccturcs'. 15).
74. Ignace Joseph Pleyel (1757-1831), French composer.
75. Leopold Kozcluch (1747-1818), Bohemiaa composer.
84

To Charles Wesley Junior Cainden Town, 21 March 1807
AL, 4pp. (Rylands, MA 9787)
Camden Town
March 21.1807.
Dear Charles
I am perfectly convinced that you would not grudge the Postage of a
Letter from me, & perhaps it is this very consideration which has rendered me
less willing to extort Mongy. The Packet which you fonnerly received I paid
the Carriage for at the White Horse Cellar, Piccadilly, where it was booked,
& if they charged you for it, they were Thieves. - I wish to be certified of this
Fact.
You know too well the Miseries I have undergone, & the irreparable
Losses I have sustained to believe that I am desirous of Length of D-ayý. The
Jews were great Coveters of Longevity, & David seems dissatisfied with
Providence when he says "behold thou hast made my Days as it were a Span
long"'- BP Warburtoný has gone about to prove that they had no Belief in a
State after Death. - I suppose you would not dare to contradict a Bishopl
Whilst I am above Ground I must be employed wholl ,
which is my
only Resource against Insanity, & altho' I often am obliged to bustle about
with a crazy Carcase, as if nothinp-was the Matter, & am often almost ready
to faint with Fatigue, yet these Inconveniences I prefer to the Horrors of
85

eflecting on my Sacrifice of Peace, Liberty, Honour, & Independence to
one of the most unworthy of all Mortals.
I am too far advanced in the Vale of Years to say widi any Probability
- forsan & haec olim meminisse juvabit. "'- but -
Here endeth the croa)dng Page. 4
I am at present engaged in a literary Business with M' Nares of tile
Museum' (D' Nares's Son whom you remember of old, who was a notable
Puppy, peeping diro' a quizzing Glass, long before such things were
authorised by Custom, & if Report say true, as accomplished a whorcmaster
as any learned Man of his Times, but is now ranked among the most worthy
& enlightened characters, equally admired & respected). ý- What the Subject
is, must not be disclosed until its publication announce the Murder of its own
Accord. 7-- If we live a few Weeks longer, the whole will be explained.
My Litany is fixed for next Sunday week, ' (Easter Day) at St Paul's.
I shall I neither be surprised nor much embarrassed if the Organ Blower
should choose to-observe the Sabbat just at the most interesting Point of the
Music. -
My dear Sir, I am so hardened by the great Vexations, that my Soul
is become Brawn; you may pull & tear at it with all your Might, but it jerks
back again to its old Place, like a Piece of India Rubber.
A Chaunt which I have cobbled up for the Occasion (which very likely
will not be done, since I had rather it should), I here add.
86

9
9
Poor Master Tommy has lost his Brother, who died only a few Hours after his
Arrival from Ireland, whence he came, it seems, principally to sec him. 10
About a Fortnight ago, I met our merry 9 Andrew, La Trobe by
Appointment at Beardmores. Master Jacky Owen was with us, who was in
excellent Humour, & launched out some shrewd sayings in his old lack-a-dazy
Manner. -
I know not whether he speaks German, but I rather imagine not,
otherwise our Sacerdotal Orpheus would probably have given him a Broadside
of Wouchten Sprouchten denderhofften splanchshags, to the great Edification
of all the Auditors who could be moved "by Concert of sweet Sounds. ""- We
had some Music from his Collection, " in the Evening, but Owen cried out
that it was desperate dull, for to say the Truth, La T. had selected all the most
lachrymose, whining, catterwauling Melodies he could stumble upon, and
among both Germans & Italians we know there is great plenty to be found,
whenever they can fall foul upon the Words "Miserere mei Deus"13 " Quis est
homo qui non fleret, "14 or any Sense that has Relation either to Penitence or
the Crucifixion.
not only agree with 9 Boyce, that chromatic Subjects produce the
worst Fugues, but I go ftifther, I think that they generally produce the worst
Melodies in Descant for the Voice. -The
besj Italian Melodies consist of
87

diatonic Intervals, & unless deep Sorrow or acute Pain arc to be expressed,
cannot subscribe to the Propriety of wire-drawing the chromatic Scale, till
your Hair stands on end & then calling it MgLQdy- As Johnson said of another
Subject, "Sir, you had as well call it Geometry. "Is
And that the deepest Sorrow may be completely expressed without one
chromatic Semitone, we need go no further than the Air "Behold & see", in
the Messiah, which I take to be the most finished Specimen of the simple
sublime in Melody that ever was produced.
DI Coghlan, 16 M' Bowen's Friend is in Town, & wishes my Opinion
of a Piano-Forte which is to be disposed of at a Sale. -
I have cngagcd to look
at it, but these Things are very
hazardous Purchases, just vamped up to serve
a present Turn, & falling to Pieces in a Month. - This reminds me of a Story
of old Thompson7 the Music-Seller in S' Paul's Church Yard, who, when a
Gentleman applied to him to purchase for him the finest Cremona" he could
procure, said "Psha, psha, don't be such a silly Man- a Crcmonal- why they
ax 50 or 60 Guineas for an old worm-eaten Fiddle, full of Cracks & Joins
ftorn Top to Bottom. -
No, no- take my Advice- don't be humbugged by any
of them Sharpers; do as I tell ye- buy a New On ,&
then you know the
Wear of it. "
By the Way, having mentioned Melody, do you know CrescentinVs
Aflettes (or Canzonets? )19- as poor Jonathae would say, "Beshrew me, but
they are gallant Things. "- but they are very far from "aant:
they are
however gallant: they are sweet gentle Melodies, & accompanied by much
better Basses than Italians generally write. - Look at them- I am sure you will
88

find them useful to your vocal scholars.
1. Ps. 39: 6.
2. William Warburton (1698-1779), divine and man of letters, ordaincd 1727,
successively preacher at Lincoln's Inn (1746). Prebendary of Gloucester (1753).
King's chaplain (1754), Prebendary of Durham (1755), Dean of Bristol (1757),
Bishop of Gloucester (1759). and the author of many works of theological
controversy. SW's reference is to 7be Divine Lestation of Moses (1738-41). his most
celebrated work (L)NB; OCE
.
3. 'Perhaps one day we will take pleasure in recalling even these experiences' (Virgil.
Aencid, i. 203).
4.711is
remark concludes the first page of the letter.
5. Robert Nares (1753-1829), philologist, BA Christ Church, Oxford (1775), MA
(1778), canon residentiary of Lichrield (1798), Prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral
(1798), Archdeacon of Stafford (1801); Assistant Librarian in the Department of
Manuscripts of the British Museum (1795), Keeper of Manuscripts (1799-1807); FSA
(1795). FRS (1804). His principal work was his A Glossary. or Collection of Words.
Phrases. Names. and Allusions to Customs. Proverbs. &c. which have been thoup-ht
to reguire Illustration in the Works of the English Authors. Particularly Shakes2gare
and his Contemnoraries (1822). lie was editor of The British -Criti
from its
beginning in 1793 to 1813 T_N_B). For the 'literary work', see n. 7.
6. James Nares (1715-83), composer, organist, and teacher, organist of York Minster
(1735), organist and composer of the Chapel Royal (1756). Musl) Cambridge (1757),
Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal (1757). Ile had a 'pleasant but slender
talent for composition', chiefly exercised in keyboard and church music, and wrote
treatises on singing and keyboard playing (Grove6 .
7. SW's lengthy anonymous review of Callcott's A Musical Grammar which appeared
in ne British Critic, 29 (1807), 398407,597-605. 'Mis remark confirms the
89

Identification of SW as Its author made by A. F. C. Kollmann in Quarterly Musical
RegLster, 1 (1812), 5,129.
8.29 Mar.
9. This chant also appears fully written out at RCNI. MS 4021, f. 1.
10. Nothing is known of Attwood's brothcr.
11. Merchant of Venice, V. 1.84.
12. A SclectiOn of Sacred Music from the WoTks of the Most Emincnt--Composcrs of
Germany and Italy, the first part of which was published In 1806.
13. 'God have mercy on me', the first line of Ps. 5 1.
14. 'Who is the man who would not weep': part of the text of the Stabat Mater, a
medieval hymn describing Mary standing at the foot of the cross. It was sung at this
time as an Office hymn on the Friday after Passion Sunday. and was a favourite text
for more extended musical treatments.
15. The source of this quotation has not been traced.
16. Lucius Coghlan Cc. 1750-1733), admitted to Trinity College, Dublin (1768), BA
(1773), BD and DD (1797). He was a prominent Freemason, and later principal
chaplain of the United Grand Lodge of England (Burtchaaell and Sadlicr, Alumn
Dublinienses (Dublin, 1935)).
17. One of a family of musical instrument makers, music sellers, and publishers who had
a shop at 75, St Paul's Church Yard from around 1746 to 1805 (Grove6; Humphries
and Smith).
18. i. e. a violin from Crcmona, a town in Umbardy famed for the quality of its stringed
instruments.
19.12 Ariette italian (Vienna, 1797) by Girolamo Crescentini (1762-1846), Italian
mezzo-soprano castrato and composer.
20. Not certainly identified; probably the organist and composer Jonathan Battishill
(1738-1801), whose later life was marred by over-indulgence in drink following the
breakdown of his marriage (Grove6).
90

To George Polgreen Bridgetower
[Caniden Town], 15 June [1807f
ALS, I p. (Upper Room, L-148)
Addressed: To I M' Bridgtower I John Street I S'Jatncs's Square I N. 3
Pmk: 16 JU 180
Dear Sir
I am extremely sorry that I was under a Necessity of going out on
Saturday Evening last, ' but shall depend upon the Pleasure of your Company
nexj Saturday, 3 when I hope you will come early that we may have a long
Gossip. -
I have been so occupied with correcting the Copyist's Blunders in
Barthelemon's Oratorio4 that I have not been able as yet to do Justice to your
Manuscript, ' which I will examine at the first Leisure Moment with the utmost
Attention. -
In full Expectation of seeing you on the Day above-mentioned,
I remain,
Dear Sir
most truly yours
S Wesley
Monday June 15.
1. Ile year is given by 15 June falling on a Monday, the partly legible postmark. and
the reference to the forthcoming perform-ince of Barth6lemon's oratorio (n. 4).
2.13 June 1807.
3.20 June 1807.
4. ne Nativi
, the first part of which was to be performed at Barthilemon's concert
91

at Hanover Square Rooms on 19 June, at which SW playcd the organ (Thc-Timcs,
19 June 1807).
5. Not identificd.
92

To [William] Marriott' Camden Town, 3 November 1807
ALS, 1 p. (Rylands, DDWF 15113)
Addressed: To I M' Marriott jurf I Broad Street I Comliill I Paid 2d
Sir
I was rather surprizcd To-Day on applying at the Bank for half a
Year's Dividend at being contradicted by the Clerk when I demanded the
Interest of E1420- which I believe will be found to be the real Amount of my
Due, as I have made no Alteration whatever in my Stock since you last sold
out for me. - The first Money was L50, & the second, E30, which I rather
think will appear by a Memorandum in your Books. '- I am at a Loss to guess
how this Mistake could happen, & shall be obliged to you for a Line which
may tend to explain it- I knew that Dispute at the Office would then answer
no good End, therefore accepted E25=7=8 (which I was assured was righQ
but concerning which being far from satisfied, I though necessary to make this
Application to you upon the Subject.
-
I remain
Sir
Yours very obediently
S Wesley
Camden Town I Nov. 3.1807
1. William Marriott junior, a stockbroker and family friend. His father, William
93

Marriott senior (1753-1815), was a close associate of John Wesley and was one of
his executors; several letters to him from SW's sister Sarah arc at Rylands
(Stevcnson, City Roid, 182-3).
2. Although SW's meaning is not entirely clear, he appears to state that he was
expecting to receive E30 as the half-yearly dividend on his L1420 of stock, L50 being
the amount he had received before Marriott had sold some of his holding on his
behalf.
94

To Joseph Payne Street
Cainden Town, [9 November 1807f
AL, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 56228)
Addressed: To I M' Street I Mark Lane 1 17
Pmk: 9 NO
My dear Sir
My Friend Madaný used to maintain in Argument that there is a
physical Perverseness in Things, which very frequently crosses & defeats our
best arranged Plans, & our most laudable Purposes.
-
I do not implicitly accede to this Doctrine, but am rather inclined to
believe that we are apt to altribute the Cause of our Want of Patience to an
existing Deficiency in Rerum Naturi, & that our general Notions of Good &
Evil are mostly settled by our Perceptions of Gratification or Disappointment.
-
- Locke has somewhere said that we estimate Good & Evil by our Sensations
of Pleasure & Pain, which by no Means proves that we are truly acquainted
with their real & essential Constitution, abstractedly considered?
Pope (or rather Ld Bolingbroker you know has endeavoured to
reconcile us to the few Calamities which await us from the Cradle to the
Grave, by declaring that it is our Duty to believe.
"All partial Evil, universal Good. "5- Which I take to be a very
pacifying & convenient Proposition, altho' I have my Doubts whether it may
not be more readily acceded to when we have just gained E30,000 in the
Lottery, than in a Paroxysm of Gout or Stone.
95

What could have tempted me to bcing a moral & metaphysical Essay,
I can hardly guess, unless it was this Sheet of Fool's Can Paper which
happened first to come to Hand, & which I being too lazy to divide, (for you
must know I am writing in Bed) I felt as if it deserved something frightful &
tedious to make it look grander. -
However I believe upqn. second Tboughts that the Subject of my
0
Discourse originated in the odd & vexatious Sec-Saw Engagements we have
been mutually making for so long, without as yet having vanquished our
opposing Destiny. -
To make Matters more agreeable, I have been
considerably unwell for these last few Days, & on Saturday Night so very ill
as to be precluded from officiating at Covent Garden Church6 yesterday, as
also from performing an Engagement at Brompton, where I was to have
passed the Day among some Friends purposely invited to give me the
Meeting. ' I am still very queer & relaxed, ' & my Progress To-Day must
determine whether or no I can have the Happiness of meeting you To-morrow
according to your Arrangement & my own Wish. -
I will however ýut the
Matter sufficiently out of Dou
to prevent your experiencing any
chronical Inconvenience. - My Conditions are these: - If it be in my Power
to be with you, I will be in Mark Lane as near 4 as possible, & if I should be
later than 10 Minutes after, or a Quarter at the outside, you may safely
conclude my Incapability of attending you.
I have frequently felt (when much indisposed) so sudden & unexpected
an Alteration for the better, just when it has enable me to keep an Engagement
I have been loth to forego, that I never sacrifice the Hope of Performance till
96

the Time has failed for attempting it. -
I will therefore not despair in the
present Instance, & try what Quiet & Nursing will effect To-Day for the
Attairunent of my Wishes. -
In case I should be disappointed To-morrow, it just occurs to me to
enquire if you can obtain Information for me of the exact Address of Lady
Dacrel (somewhere near Blackheath), the Rev' M' Lock, who has the Living
of Lee; 'ý-- Sir Francis Baring, " & lbomson Bonar Esql. "-- All of whose
Residences are doubtless in the Court Guide, 12 of which I am not possest, 'tho
it is a Book that every one should have who has any Business in England. -
But I will have it for the next Year if I do not forget to buy it.
was highly pleased by some Lines of ColmaiP which I read
Yesterday in Bell's Weekly Messenger, entitled "A Reckoning with Time; " 14_
Pray look at them: -- I have not for a long while seen a Collection of Verses
more uniformly witty & pointed. -
I am told that they appeared in the
Morning Post of the Saturday or Friday preceding, which I can scarcely
credit, as I have not met with any Iling
in that Paper for six Months past
eidier rational or interesting, except the Details of the Nobility's Routs &
Concerts, & the State of the Health & Bowels of the Royal Family. (admitting
they have any. )
You have heard of the Gentleman whose Philosophy induced him to
blow his Brains out because it was too much Trouble for him to pull his
Stocking off. - As I am just now about to put on mine, I will with your Leave
meditate upon the Rationale of his Conclusions on the Subject, bidding you
for a short Time only, (as I hope)
97

Adieu
Camden Town I Monday Morning 9< o'Cl > ock
1. Tle month and year are given by SW's 'Monday morning', the incomplete postmark,
and SW's Camden Town address.
2. Probably Martin Madan (1756-1809), rather than his father.
3. - Locke: An Essay Conceminz Human Undcrstanding, 11.20.1-2.
4. SW's remark reflects the view commonly held at the time that Pope's Ess, -iv on Nhn
(1734) was inspired by the philosophical writings of Viscount Bolingbroke (1678-
1751).
5. Essay on Man, Epistle 1. i. 292.
6. i. e. St Paul's, Covent Garden, where SW may have been deputizing for Callcott,
who was the organist.
7. lie nature and purpose of this meeting are not known.
8. Gertrude Brand, Baroness Dacre (1750-1819). In fact, she lived at 2 Chesterfield
Street, Mayfair, with a country property at Lee. Kent (Burke's Peerage under
'Hampdcn'; GM, 18W, 371).
9. George Lock (1780/1-1864), Rector of Lee, Kent. from 1803 to his death (Foster).
He does not appear in the 1807 Court Guide.
10. Sir Francis Baring, Bart (1740-1810), banker and MP, of 33 Hill Street, Berkeley
Square (-D-NL3).
No doubt T'hompson. Bonar, who was elected a Governor of the Foundling Hospital
on 30 Dec. 1801; at that time he lived at Old Bethlem (Nichols and Wray, 391).
12. Boyle's New Fashionable Court-and County Guide and Town Visiting Directory
included listings of the upper echelons of society, both alphabetically and street by
street. It was thus a useful publication for those soliciting subscriptions or sending
out publicity, and SW's enquiry was no doubt for one of these purposes.
13. George Colman the Younger (1762-1836), playwright and theatre manager. His
98

greatest success was Love Laughs ot Locksmiths (1808).
14. Colman's humorous poem'A Reckoning with Time' (Corne on. old Time -nay, that
is stuff) appcarcd in Bell's Wccklv- Mescnecr on 8 Nov. (p. 359). SW was
misinformed about it having also appeared in the Morning Post.
99

To Charles Burney Camden Town, 22 March 1808
ALS, 2 pp. (Osbom, MSS 3, Box 16, Foldcr 1192)
Addressed: To I D" Bumey I Chelsea College I Tuesday 22 March. PM 23
MR 1808
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay: - ..
Editor's note: Burney Is rep y to
is etter, undated but g. 23 March 1808, and
beginning "Your remembrance, after (I do believe) so long', is at Osborn,
MSS 3, Box 5, Folder 319.
My dear ir
Although your many and important Engagements & my own necessary
Drudgery have denied me the Happiness of a personal Interview for so long
an Interval of Time, yet I trust you are assured that my high Reipect &
cordial Esteem have in no Degree diminished, &I felt extreme Satisfaction
in having lately heard that your Health is considerably improved. '
I scarcely need say that I shall have great additional Pleasure in
congratulating you Vivi Voce, whenever you can indulge me widi an Hour,
compatible with your more consequential Concerns.
-
I have also to prefer a Petition which if admissible, both myself &
your Petitioner will rest always obliged. - Nf William Linley' (Brother to the
late M's Sheridan the celestial Songstress)' is exceedingly desirous of the
Honour of being introduced to you, &I felt not a little proud in the Privilege
of informing him that I was so happy as to have long enjoyed your
100

Acquaintance & good Will. -
I also promised him what I now perform, to
request of you whether he may expect this Favour upon any Morning when
you can with least Inconvenience sacrifice a few Moments. -
I will make any
Pre-engagement of my own yield to whatever Time you may appoint, &I am
very certain that M' L. will look forward to it with much Exultation. '
With every best Wish, believe me,
My dear Sir,
Your most
devoted & faithful Servant,
S. Wesley.
Camden Town I Tuesday. March 221 1808.
1. Burney had suffered a slight paralytic seizure in his left hand in early Oct. 1806, but
had made a good recovery. In Aug. 1808 his granddaughter Marianne Francis found
him 'as young and gay as ever. reading & writing without spectacles, (which he has
never used yetj and cheerful and entertaining, and sprightly, and kind, as he had
been 23 instead of eighty three (Lonsdale, 460-2).
2. William LinIcy (1771-1835), civil servant, theatrical manager, author, and composer.
son of Thomas Linley of Bath (1733-95) and one of a distinguished family of
musicians. After education at Harrow and St Paul's School, he worked in India for
the East India Company between 1790 and 1795 and between 1800 and 1807. In the
late 1790s he shared the management of Drury Lane Tbeatre with his brother-in-law
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816), and composed two unsuccessful operas. On
his return to England from his second Indian tour of duty he was able to devote
himself to writing and composition as a gentleman amateur. Among his compositions
were several sets of songs and some elegies and glees. lie also wrote two novels. His
most important musical publication was a two-volume anthology of Shakespeare
101

settings by himself and others (Grove, undcr 'UnIcy (6)'; PM;
Clcmcntina Black,
Ilie Linleys of Path (rev. cdn.. 1971)).
3. The soprano Elizabeth Ann Sheridan, n6c Linley (1754-92), sister of William Unley.
After early appearances as a singer in Bath and Bristol she made her London debut
in 1767 and subsequently sang regularly in the London oratorio seasons (1769-73)
and at the lbree Choirs Festivals (1770-73). She elopcd with Richard Brinslcy
Sheridan (see below) in 1772; they married In 1773. She then retired from singing
in public but continued for a while to give private concerts at her home, sometimes
accomp anicd by Burney (Grove, under UnIcy
(2)'; Alan Chcdzoy, Sheridan's
Nightingale: The Story of Elizabeth Linley (Cambridge, 1997); Margaret Bor and L.
Clelland, Still the Lark: A Biography of Elizabeth LinIcy (London, 1962); SW,
Reminiscences .
4. In his reply, Burney explained that his health had been good 'till the March Lion
began to roar. Since that time, however, he had been scarcely out of bed, and he
had been advised by his friends to remain bedridden until 'the departure of this
oriental monster'. When the weather improved, he would be glad to arrange a time
to meet SW and Linley.
102

To Charles Burney [Cainden Towill, 12 April [180811
ALS, 3 pp. (Osborn, MSS 3, Box 16, Folder 1192)
Addressed: To Dr Charles Bumcy
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay: -
Tuesday Moming
10
o'Clock
My dear Friend
Your kind Letter' has reached me only 5 Minutes ago, & it is needless
to express to you the Regret I feel in being unable to avail myself of your
Permission to attend you this Day. I will immediately communicate your
welcome Sununons to my Friend Linley, who will rejoice to be informed that
he is likely soon to become Voti Coml2os: l I sent him your former Utter,
which delighted him to Enthusiasm, & the Part of it relative to W Sheridan
he read to his Mother, whom it affected in the tenderest Manner, & who is
charmed with the delicate & affectionate Panegyric you have bestowed on so
amiable & interesting a Pcrsonage. 5
If you will indulge'me with a Line, naming any Morning, or Afternoon
which might suit you to receive us, in next Week, I will make my
Arrangements accordingly, &I am sure that Nf Linley will eagerly embrace
the Opportunity he has longcd for, & if our westerly Wind continue (as I hope
& trust it will) every succeeding Day will probably produce a renovating
103

Effect on your Ilcalth, but pray do not venture too soon out, for the Evenings
are yet very sharp & wintry. '
I have long wished for an Occasion to beg your Opinion & Advice
upon a Scheme of which I know not another Friend who can be so competent
a Judge. -
The Preludes & Fugues of Sebastian BacW arc now become
exceedingly scarce in England, & almost unattainable: I have for some months
past paid much Attention to them, & consider them in the Light which I flatter
myself you do, as the highest Stretch of harmonic Intellect, & the noblest
Combination of musical Sounds that ever
immortalized Genius. '- I have
frequently played them among Professors, many of whom had never before
heard a Note of them, & others who had imbibed such a Prejudice against
them, ftom the false Idea of their being lLa, bgrsh, & unmelodioul, that it
was really a triumphant Moment to witness their agreeable Surprize. -
The
Satisfaction which they have generally produced to all the Judges wherever I
have had the Honour of performing them, & the Eagerness they seem to shew
for the Possession of them, incline me to think that a new Edition of them by
Subscription might prove a Work beneficial to the musical World, as well as
profitable to the Editor. ý- Even in the Zurich Copy" (which I am told is the
best) are several little Omissions, if anything ought to be termed li! tle relating
to so stupendous a Structure, & 1, determining at all Events to have a Copia
Vera, have not grudged the Labour of transcribing the whole 48 Preludes with
their corresponding Fugues, &I believe I can pretty securely affirm that mine
is now the most correct Copy in England.
If you judge this Design worth the Attempt, you will extremely oblige
104

me by the most unreserved Communication of your Thoughts upon the
Subject. I - remember that in one of your Letters to me some years ago, " you
remarked that "Subscriptions are troublesome Things, " but yet, perhaps in the
present Instance, no other Mode of Proceeding would be so likely to evite
Risk & dangerous Expence, as I certainly would not think of publishing until
the Charges for Printing were wholly defrayed.
I am, my dear Sir,
Your ever obliged & affectionate Friend,
S. Wesley
April 12.
1. The year is given by 12 Apr. falling on a Tuesday and SW's continuing discussion
of arrangements for him and Linley to meet Burney. Burney's reply to this letter,
undated but c. 13 Apr. 1808, is at NYPL (Berg).
2. Not preserved: a subsequent letter to Burney's reply to SW to Burney, 22 Mar.
1808, it evidently contained an invitation to SW and Linley to visit Burney and a
suggestion that they should choose this day for their visit.
'To have achieved his wish'.
4. In his reply to SW's first letter, Burney had expressed his delight at having once
more heard from SW after 'unwittingly losing sight of each other so long', and
reminisced about his friendship with Elizabeth Linley.
5. Bumey had written: 'I did not know that the first dear M' Sheridan had a brother
living ....
But that most charming and accomplished of female beings I adored, and
regarded her as an angel, in correctness and form, conversation and voice, indeed
10 neither look at her nor listen to her divine brcathings, but with extatic rapture. '
In a letter to Thomas Twining of I Dec. 1778 (Burney, Utters 1,265), Burney had
105

emembered Elizabeth Sheridan's voice as having been 'as sweet as sugar*. Ile had
reason to have such pleasant memories: Elizabeth Linley had sung the principal
soprano part in a performance of his Oxford D. Mus. exercise 11 will love thee, 0
Lord, my strength' in Oxford in 1772.
6. Burney replied: 'the weather for some days past has been truly balmy & amended me
much; but your kind advice "not to venture out too soon, as the Evenings are yet
very sharp & wintry' is anticipated: as I have made ... a firm resolution never again
to be in the open air after sunset, by wl I have banished myself for the rest of my
life from dinners, public places, private Concerts, convcrsazioni, and all the del ights
of society in quiet parties of select friends & persons of learning, worth. & talents.
Any day therefore in next Week from between 12 &3-
or evening from
5 to 8,1 can offer you and MI L. 1-1 suppose it were Tuesday let - me but know.
& [1] shall be Sempre not at Home to any other human creawro-. If you individually
wish sooner to compare notes ab'
.: I
name some day
& hour as convenient as possible to your own engagemý ....
7. The '48.
8. As SW was later to explain in his long letter to Jacob of 17 Sept. 1808. he had
already written to Burney in Sept. or Oct. 1807 about his enthusiasm for the music
of J. S. Bach. In his reply (not preserved: partly summarised by SW in his letter to
Jacob) Burney had invited SW to visit him and to play him some examples of Bach's
music. SW's letter to Jacob goes on to give an account of this famous occasion.
9. The edition of the '48' by SW and Charles Frederick Horn was eventually published
by subscription in four parts between 1810 and 1813.
10. The Nageli edition.
11. Not preserved.
106

To [Charles Burney] [Caniden Town], 14 April [180811
ALS, 1 p. (Osbom, MSS 3, Box 16, Folder 1192)
Addressed: To Dr Charles Burney
My dear Friend,
I have sent your Letter2 to Linley, who will be delighted with the kind
interest you take in his musical Reputation.
- Ile is indeed worthy "Laudari
a Laudato, "3 as I flatter myself a further Acquaintance with him will convince
you.
4
Many thanks for your friendly Cogitations on
The scheme certainly claims some previous Deliberation, &I know of no one
who is so amPly qualified to anticipate the probable Result as yourself,
therefore if you will give me your best Advice, (which I know to be the best
of the best) I will sing
"Nil desperandum TE DUCE"I
Yours ever faithfully
sw
Thursday 14. Ap.
I. The year is given by 14 Apr. falling on a7bursday and SW's continuing discussion
of the meeting with Linley.
2. Burney's reply to SW to Burney. 22 Mar. 1808.
3. 'To be praised by a man who has himself been praised, (and whose praisc for this
reason carries particular authority): a quotation from Naevius's lost play JIMto I
107

profiscens, known from a numbcr of quotations in Ciccro.
4. The four notes spell out Bach's name.
5. 'No need for despair, if you are leading', adapted from Horace, Odes, vil. 27.
108

To [Charles Burneyf [Camden Town, mid-April-inid-May 180812
AL fragment, 2 pp. (Rylands, DDWF 15/8a)
Editor's note: parts of the letter have been crossed through, presumably by
Mme d'Arblay.
2
Seet
However, having proceeded through half a Dozen bars without Molestation,
Success, by Degrees, begot a sense of comparative Security, & my Tremor
began gradually to subside, till at last I became so temerarious as to give out
upon the full Organ:
3
vf S. 6.
And Fortune favoured the bold, for I continued an inquisitorial Persecution of
my Bellows Blower for two Hours at least, without the least Interruption from
without.
nis long (& I feel tedious) Narrative may incline you to ask "quorsum
haec' ?4 but it is remotely connected with your Scheme of performing the
Fugues in public. - Salomon, who was there on that dangerous Day, 5 brought
with him two beautiful Women, 6 whose deep Attention conspired not a little
to enliven & inspire me; he himself appeared to be excessively pleased, &
109

when I called on him (shortly after) he said fincr Things than I havc the
Impudence to write. -- However, one part of his Panegyric I will venture to put
down, that altho' he had heard S. B. played by some of the best Gennan
Organists, particularly at Berlin, yet he had never wiffiessed their producing
so smooth an Effect as on that Morning. -
This was the more gratifying to
me, as the Organ in the said Chapel' has a very deep &a very obstinate
Touch. He added- "What a Shame it is that such Music should not be known
in this Country, ' where every Body pretends to be musicall I will tell you what
strikes me: if you were to have a Morning Party in some large Room capable
of containing a good Organ, & to play some of these Fugues of Bach,
interspersed with Voluntaries of your own, & make the tickets 7 shillings a
Piece, I am persuaded that you would make Money by it. 8- The Abbe Vogler
did the same kind of Thing here, in St Paul' Cathedral, by the private
Circulation of Tickets, & by which he cleared at least 2001.9
Having previously experienced, in the last named Speaker, more Zeal
in planning, than Steadiness in the Execution of his Schemes, altho' I thought
his Suggestion worth Consideration, yet I should not have bestowed on it that
serious Attention which after what you have written it undoubtedly claims. -
With regard to lecturin upon the Subject, " Q can there be sufficient Time to
prepare anything like a Course during the present advanced State of the
Season? For I should not be fond of producing only rudis
indigestaque Moles"
upon a Work challenging such minute Criticism. - if I live to another Winter
I may perhaps be able to forni at least an Outline of such a Course, 12
110

I
Bumey is identified as the addressee of this letter by his daughter's characteristic
docketing.
2. Although it is clear from internal evidence that this fragment dates from the spring
of 1808, its more precise dating and its placing in the correspondence is
problematical. SW's description of playing Bach on the organ may relate to his
recital at Surrey Chapel on 15 Mar. (see n. 5). What appears to be a fragment of
Burney's undated draft reply to this letter. beginning 'but this mornings business
more complicated', is at NYPL (Berg). The content of both fragments suggest a
dating after the exchange of correspondence between SW and Burney of late Mar.
and Apr. 1808. Ile suggestion of Salomon, quoted here, and of Burney, in his draft
reply, that SW should organize a 'Morning Party' at which he would play Bach's
music on the organ was taken up by SW, and resulted in his concert on 11 June (see
n. 8). Given all these factors, a date between mid-Apr. and mid-May 1808 seems
most probable.
3. 'Me opening of the C major fugue from Book I of the '48'.
4. 'What's the purpose of these remarks? ', a locution often used by Cicero.
5. Possibly 15 Mar. 1808: according to R. J. S. Stevens, SW on this date gave a recital
at Surrey Chapel in Blackfriars Road, where SW's friend Jacob was organist
(Argent, 156).
6. Not identified.
7. If SW's reference is to Surrey Chapel, a 1794 instrument by Tlomas Elliot
(Boeringer, iii. 124).
In his draft reply, Burney advised: 'lay your traps, & bait them so as to catch the
country organists in the way Salomon & myself suggested - have your congress
assembled of a morning, &I should think the Hanover Square room best. in which
there is always an excellent Org. ready erected. ' SW took the advice of Bumey and
Salomon and promoted a concert at the Hanover Square Rooms on II June, at which
it was announced that he would 'Perform on the Organ ...
several admired
ill

compositions of the celebrated SEBASTIAN BACH, together with several
EXTEMPORANEOUS VOLUNTARIESWorning Chronicle, 7 June 1808). Burney
noted the concert in his diary, and may have been present: 1M r S. Weslcys morning
performance on the Org. Extempore, & on the P. F. Sebastian Bach's preludes and
Fugues, in Hanover Square new room. '
9. Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814), German theorist, teacher, organist. pianist, and
composer. He was a flamboyant virtuoso performer on the piano and organ, noted
particularly for his improvisations. His organ recitals, of which he gave over 2,000,
attracted a great deal of attention. Ile visited London in 1783 and 1790.7le
performance in St Paul's Cathedral mentioned here has not bcen traced.
10. Following the success of William Crotch's courses at the Royal Institution, public
lectures on music had recently become popular and fashionable, and were seen by
SW as a particularly effective way of promoting the music of Bach. In his draft
reply, Burney advised: 'let alone the lecturing till next year - but cease thinking of
it: as my daughter [Sarah Harrict Burney (1772-1844)] and I see infinite. credit &
advantages that must necessarily flow from your diagnosis & we have not the least
doubt that you will be called for at the Royal Institution; where after Crotch &
Callcott have expended all their ammunition, & though they have performed
wonders, 6ey will leave you a rich aftermath. ' The reference to Callcott here
provides additional evidence for the dating of this fragment: Callcott had agreed to
give two courses of lectures at the Royal Institution in early 1808, but had only been
able to deliver seven lectures in his first course before a breakdown in his health In
early Apr. caused him to withdraw. The lack of mention of Callcott's breakdown
should not, however, be taken to indicate that the fragment antedates it, as news of
it may not have yet reached Burney.
11. 'Chaos, a rough and unordered mass' (Ovid, Metamorphoses, L 7).
12. This incomplete sentence occurs at the bottom of the page. The remainder of the
letter. presumably continued on a subsequent sheet or sheets, is missing. As Burney
112

had predicted, SW was invited to lecture at the Royal Institution In the following
season.
113

To [Charles Burney] [Caniden Town], 23 June [180811
ALS, 2 pp. (Osborn, MSS 3, Box 16, Folder 1192)
Addressed: To Dr Charles Bumey, Musl)
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay:
My dear Friend,
I cannot advance a Step without your Advice, therefore must pester
you (as long as you consent to bear it) as sedulously as a thorough Papist does
in cases of Conscience when he has ensured the Heart of his Confessarius.
Yesterday, M' Griff in junior' (an excellent Organist, &a most worthy
& amiable Man) informed me, that my Lady Somebody or other, ' (I have a
very plebeian Knack of forgetting Titles) sent to him for the Loan of Seb.
Bach's Fugues: she had already ransacked every Musick Shop in Town, but
in vain; & was accidentally informed that he was in Possession of this
invaluable Treasure:
- What ought he to do? -
However let me tell you what
he did. --
He felt himself puzzled by the Request, for he is among those who
think with me & the Poet, that "When Women sue, Men give like Gods
but his Prudence overcame his Philogyny, & he had the German Sincerity
which extorted from him the unwilling tho' determinate Answer that "it was
true he had the Fugues in Question, but that they were so scarce, and to him
so precious, that he never trusted them from under his Roof. '
Here is a Proof of the Truth of your Prophecy, that this admirable
Musick might be played into Fashion: 5 you see I have only risked one modest
114

Experiment, ' & it has electrified the Town just in the way we wanted. -- Now
what I request of you is to give me an Order how to procced: - Shall I
immediately issue Proposals about lecturin , or about publishin Sebastian
with annotations & an explanation? -- Or is it too late to make any Noise about
it till next Season? 7_
I know you will give me your kind Counsel, &I
also know that "Nil
desperandum est, te Duce. "
SW
27 Arlington Street Camden Town I June 23
1. The year is given by SW's address and the content: SW's refcrcnce to 'my Lady
Somebody or Other' (n. 3) firmly ties it to the following two letters, both of which
also refer to her. It also helps to pinpoint the date of a change of address, or more
probably a renumbering of SWs house. SW was at 9 Arlington Street at the
beginning of 1808; by the time of his fully dated letter to Bumey of 7 July he had
moved (or the house had been renumbered) to No. 27. Ile underlining of '27' here
suggests that the move or rcnumbering was recent.
2. The composer, pianist, and organist George Eugene Griffin (1781-1863). son of
George Griffin (1740/1-1809). He was organist of St Botolph, Bishopsgate from 1805
to 1815, and elected to membership of the Royal Society of Musicians in 1808. lie
was later a founder member of the Philharmonic Society; a string quartet and a piano
quartet were performed at early concerts, and he on occasion played the piano
(Matthews; Foster, Philharmoni ,
14,30,35,41,42).
3. In fact, Lady Chambers (see next letter).
4. Slightly misquoted from Measure for Measure, 1. iv. 80.
5. In his undated response to SW's enquiry about publishing the '48' (NYPL, (Berg)),
115

Burney had written: 'If you detern-dne on lmmcdiktc publication, your expedients for
saving the expcncc of newspaper advertisements I think are prudent & in a long shop
bill you may dilate on the excellences of the work at any length you please - but to
say the truth I would not hazard the cxpcncc of printing till you had played and
lectured the work into favour; when I have little doubt but that all studious professors
& dilettanti male & female will make Sebastian their future Study as Steffani's ducts
& Lco's Solfcggi won the morning studies of all the great Italian Singers during the
early part of the last Century. '
6. SW's Hanover Square Rooms concert on II June 1808.
7. SW appears to have published no proposals for lectures or editions In the summer of
1808.
116

To [Charles Burneyf [Cainden Town], 28 June [180811
ALS, I p. (Upper Room, L-151).
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay:
My dear Friend
As your Words & Sebastian's Notes are to me equally precious, I must
request & intreat you to favor me with the Utter you first designed for me
upon the Subject of my Layady. 1- By the Way it was Lady Chambers, the
Wife of Sir Will' Chambers, a Knight or Barrownight (Baronet) pretty well
known. '-
I shall strictly follow your Advice upon all Points in which you will
condescend to bestow it upon me, and as I was Yesterday raised to the
Dignity of a Master Mason at the Somerset House Lodge, s where a solemn
Oath of Sincerity is taken, I have no urgent Temptation to break my Word
with any one, & particularly with You, who have so kindly & so constantly
extended your invaluable Friendship to
Your faidiful
S Wesley
Tuesday 281 of June
1. Burney is identified as the addressee of this letter by his daughter's characteristic
docketing.
2. The year is given by 28 June falling on a Tuesday and the reference to 'my Layady',
also referred to in the following (fully dated) letter.
117

3. Not preserved: as is clear from the following letter, Burney subsequently sent it to
SW.
4. Probably the Lady Chambers listed in the Court Guid as living at 43 Nto . rtimcr
Street East and at Snarcsbrook, Essex. She was in fact the widow of the eminent
architect Sir William Chambers (1726-96).
5. SW's involvement with Freemasonry went back to his early adulthood. Ile had been
initiated into Preston's Lodge of Antiquity on 17 Dec. 1788 and had become Junior
Deacon in the following year. Among his fellow lodge-mcmbcrs either at that time
or later were Samuel Wcbbe I and 11 and Robert Birchall. His membership lapsed In
1791 through non-paymcnt of lodge dues, but he rejoined In 18 11. His involvement
with the Somerset House Lodge Oike the Lodge of Antiquity, one with strong
musical traditions, and with many musician members) had begun earlier in 1808,
when he had been admitted as an honorary member at the lodge meeting on 23 Jan.
A number of SW's friends and colleagues were already, or later became, members
of the lodge (Oxford).
118

To Charles Burney Camden Town, 7 July 1808
ALS, 3 pp. (Osborn, MSS 3, Box 16, Folder 1193)
Addressed: To I D" Bumey I Chelsea College
Pmk: 7 JY 1808 EV
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay:
My dear Friend,
I am just retumed from the Cambridge Commencement, ' to which I
went by the joint Request of Professor Hague, 2& M' Camaby, who
particularly wished me to be present at his taking his Doctor's Degree. Ile
produced a very pretty & correct AntheO which was very well pcrfonned:
MI & M" Vaughan, ' & M' Leete' were the principal Singers.
- 711cre was also
a Selection from the Messiah, & from the Creation, on another Morning, in
which I conducted the Choruses, which gave general Satisfaction, &I assure
you that I have worked very hard (particularly on Sunday, to the scandal of
all good Presbyterians)- For to say the Truth, no sooner had I tired out one
Bellows-Blower but they dragged me away to attack another, & when he was
settled, away to a third, so that I have lived in a perpetual contention of
Figgers versus EiLsts, & the Joke of the Thing is that the Odds concluded in
Favour of Fingers.
Although my Absence from Home has unavoidably caused two or three
little Disappointments (principally such as the immediate Reply to Letters) yet,
upon the whole, I by no Means repent having made this Excursion. -
The
119

Place (at which I had not been for 20 years before) is infinitcly bcautiful &
interesting. - The Walks, the Quiet of the Streets, the Order, the Neatness, die
Security, the Magnificence & Antiquity of the Buildings, the clcgant Mannas
of the elder Graduates & venerable Masters, arc altogedicr so irresistible, that
never quitted any Sejour, even in the happy Days of Childhood, with more
Regret.
By the way, this Journey has also advanced Sebastian Bach's Cause not
a little, for I made a Point of playing him (even at their Glee Parties, upon the
Piano Forte) wherever an Evening Meeting took place. - Magna est Veritas,
et prxvalebit: O-- In the present Case I may say praevalui ,
for it surprizcd me
to witness how they drank in every note. -
Some of the Auditory were
frequently Men of considerable musical Talent: a few of them would sit down
(between the several Pieces of various Kinds) & try a few Bars of one of the
Fugues or Preludes, & when they found themselves set fast (which you know
could not be very long first) they used to say "Welll-
if I had but these
Compositions, I would practise them Night & Day. -
I once thought that
Handel's were not only the best but the hardest Fugues in the World, but now
I find myself mistaken in both Suppositions. "-
So I have now a fresh Instance of the Truth of your Prophecy, that by
playinig them into Fashion, the Avidity for possessing them could be infallibly
increased. 7-
A Friend of mine (a very clever Artist) has nearly finished a Paintin
of Seb. Bach, from a small Drawing lent me by MI Kollmann, 8 which latter
Circumstance I believe I previously mentioned to you. 9- Quxre, would not
120

an Extract, translated from the Life in German, " be a good Avant-Courcur to
the Fugues, with a Portrait prefixed to the Title? - In this also I shall follow
your Advice.
I found on my Return yesterday your petit Billct upon the subject of
My Uyady, " for which I am (as always) thankful to you.
I could not resist the Temptation of telling you pll how- : 11
All indeed is a Mistake, for there are a thousand Incidents which I wish to
inform you of relative to this grand Tour, which will be better viva Voce, &
I shall lose no Time in bringing my Budget of Gossip to Chelsea (between 3
& 5) within these few Days.
Yours, my dear Friend,
as ever
S Wesley
Camden Town. I Arlington Street. 27.1 Ibursday. 7. July. 1808.
1. Commencements (i. e. degree ceremonies) at Oxford and Cambridge were occasions
for large-scale music festivals. The 1809 Cambridge Commencement opened with a
service at Great St Mary's (the University church) on Ibursday 30 July which
included contributions from Carnaby and SW, and was followed by evening concerts
in the Town Hall on 30 June and I July, and a morning concert on I July at
Addcnbrooke's Hall.
Charles Hague of Trinity INI (1769-1821), English violinist and composer, Mus. B.
(1794), Mus. D. (1801), who had in 1799 succeeded John Randall as Professor of
Music at Cambridge. After early years in Cambridge he had gone to London in 1786
121

to study with Salomon and Benjamin Cooke; he and SW would doubtless have mct
at this time (GrovO; j2hIBD.
3. Carriaby's Mus. D. exercise (not identified) was performed after service at Great St
Mary's on Sunday 3 July (Cambridge Chronicle and-Joumil, 25 June. 2,9 July
1808).
4. The tenor Thomas Vaughan (1782-1843) and his wife Elizabeth, nEe Tennant, a
soprano. Both were active singers in London and on the provincial music festival
circuit, and appeared with SW the following year at the Tamworth Festival (Brown
and Stratton; Sainsbury).
5. Robert Lcctc (Mte 1772-Msl 1836), a bass. lie was a member of both the Catch
Club and the Glee Club, and secretary of the Catch Club from 1828 to 1836. (Brown
and Stratton; Argent).
6. 'Great is truth, and shall prcvail'. a quotation from Thomas Brooks (1608-1680), Me
Crown and Glory of Christiani (1662), p. 407, adapted from the Vulgate's 'Magna
est vcritas, et praevalet' (3 Esdr. 4: 41).
7. See SW to Burney, 23 June 1808, n. 5.
8. The composer and theorist Augustus Frederic Chiistopher Kollman (1756-1829)
moved to London from Hamburg in 1782 and was appointed organist of the Royal
German Chapel in St James's Palace in the same year. Ile was one of the leading
figures of the English Bach movement, whose interest antedated SW's own by some
years: in his Essay on Practical Musical Compositio (1799) he included the organ
Trio Sonata in E flat, BWV 525, the C major Prelude and Fugue from Book 11 of
the '48', BVVV 870 (the first example from the '48' to be published in England), and
proposed the publication of an analysed edition of the '48'.
9. Tle identity of SWs artist friend is not known, and neither the drawing of Bach lent
to SW by Kollmann nor the painting taken from it is known to be extant.
10. Forkel's 10ber Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben. Kunst. und Kunstwerke (1802); for
plans for the publication of a complete translation of Forkel, see SW to Jacob, 17
122

Oct. 1808.
11. Lady Chambers: see SW to Burney. 28 June [1808). Ifer 'petit billet' was
presumably the letter referred to there.
12. A favourite phrase of SW; its source has not been traced.
123

To [Mary] Beardmore' Cainden Town, 7 July [180812
ALS, 1 p. (London University, ALS 293)
Addressed: To I Miss Beardmore I Canonbury Place I Islington I N. 5
Pmk: 7 JY 1808
My dear Madam
The Reason of my long Silence & Absence has been my Attendance
at the Cambridge Commencement where I have been to assist a Friend upon
his taking his Doctor's Degree in Musick, and at which place I have been
solicited to remain much longer than I intended in so kind & friendly a
Mamer that I felt unable to resist so much Importunity. -
I
3
shall hope to be with you on Saturday next, & will procure you
some new Musick.
I remember recommending to you a beautiful Song of Bach, from the
Opera of Orfeo, which I fear is scarce, but which if I can I will obtain-4
otherwise I will endeavour to bring some others that may be suitable. -
I remain
My dear Madam
Yours very sincerely
S Wesley
Camden Town. Ilursday July 7.
124

1. Mary Beardmore (1778/9-1838). the cldcr daughter of Joseph Beardmore: SW also
taught her sister Frances (1789/90-1868).
2. Ile year is given by the postmark.
3.9 July.
4. Possibly the Andantino from J. C. Bach's Orfco ed Euridice (1770), a manuscript
copy of which in SW's hand dated '23 June' is at BL, Add. NIS 69854, ff. 14-15.
125

To [Benjamin Jacob]' Camden Town, 13 August [180811
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130. f. 23)1
Camden Town 13. Aue
My dear ir,
I do not profess myself to be so great a Schemer as our late Friend 9
Arnold, who, we all know, speculated himself into Mischief too often; ' but
I have a Plan to propose to you of which I should be glad to have your early
Opinion.
It is manifest that Sebastian makes that Sort of Sensation which will in
a short Tune form a PaM Business among several societies of musical
Pretenders; of those who know & like nobody but Handel, others who swear
in only Haydn's, Mozart's, & Beethoven's Words, others who relish only
"Little Peggy's Love, "' "A Smile &a Tear, "' & similar Sublimities of which
you need not be reminded.
Now I really think that all those who have the Courage to speak out in
Defence of the greatest of all Harmonists ought to coalesce & amalgamate in
a Mode which should render their cordial Sentiments & Judgement
unequivocal in the Face of the World, & that we ought to stigmatize such
Hypocrites as. affect to be enchanted with Sebastian on one Day, & on the
next, endeavour to depreciate & vilify him.
In order to ascertain who are verily & indeed "the Israelites in whom
126

is no Guile"' I can think of nothing more cxpcdicnt than the Formation of a
Junto among ourselves, composed of characters who sincerely &
conscientiously admit & adhere to the superior Excellence of the great musical
High Priest; & who will bend their Minds to a 'zealous Promotion of
advancing the Cause of Truth & Perfection. -
Such a society would at least
produce one happy Effect, that of rendering thoroughly public what as yet is
but partially so. -- I look upon the State of Music in this Country to be very
similar to the State of the Roman Church when the flagrant Abuses &
Enormities had arisen to such a Height as to extort a Reformation. -
We know
what Wonders were wrought by the Resolution & Perseverance of a single
Friar, & that Martin Luther. ' having Truth for his firni Foundation (for this
was the Reason of his Success) managed in a very short Time to shake the
whole Fabric of Ignorance & Superstition, although sanctioned by the
Precedence of many former Ages, & enforced by the most despotic Authority
both ecclesiastical & civil.
It is high Time that some Amendment should take place in the
Republic of
Musick, &I know
of no Engine equally powerful with the
immortal & adamantine Pillars of Sebastian's Harmony. -
I really think that
our constant & unremitted QuestioA to all who call themselves Friends to
Excellence should be "Who is on our Side, who"? ý- And I have but little
Doubt that by the Establishment of a regular Society in Defence of the Truth,
we should e'er long reap some good Fruits of our laudable Endeavours. -
Write me your Iloughts the Subject as soon as convenient,
lieve me, my dear Sir,
127

ever truly yours
S. Wesley.
Bcnjan-dn Jacob (1778-1829), organist of Surrey Chapel, friend and collaborator of
SW in the promotion of the music of J. S. Bach, and the recipient of an important
series of twcnty-four letters from SW, subsequently edited by SW's daughter Eliza
and published in 1875 as Letters of Samuel Wesley to Nir Jacobs. Orginist of Surrey
Chavel, Relating to the Introduction into this Country of the Works of John Sebistlan
Bach (the Bach Letters .
As a boy he was a chorister at Portland chapel and studied
harpsichord and organ under William Shrubsole and Nlatthcw Cooke, organist of St
Gcorge's, Bloomsbury. His appointments included the Salem Chapel; Carlisle
Chapel, Kennington Lane; and Bcntinck Chapel, Lisson Grove. lie was invited by
Rowland Hill to be organist of Surrey Chapel in 1794, and remained there until
1825. He appears to have been known as (and to have signed himself) Jacobs at the
beginning of his correspondence with SW, but soon afterwards to have changed his
name to Jacob (Grove ; Emery, 'Jack Pudding', 306). Ile lived at Charlotte Street,
Blackfriars Road (the western end of the present Union Street), close to Surrey
Chapel. Although lacking an address portion, it is clear from the content and present
location of this letter that it is to Jacob.
2. The year of this letter is not given. It Is apparent. however. from the discussion of
the 'sensation' caused by Bach's music and SW's proposal for the formation of a
Bach 'junto' that it comes from an early stage in SW's promotion of Bach, and that
the year is 1808 rather than 1809, as implied by its position in Eliza Wesley's
edition.
3.11is
collection contains all the letters to Jacob subsequently published by Eliza
Wesley. Some fragments of other letters to Jacob. not Included in the Bach Letters,
are at Edinburgh University Library.
4. Samuel Arnold (1740-1802), composer, organist, editor, and impresario, had a long
128

and varied career. lie was at different times composer to both Covent Garden and
the Little Theatre in the Haymarket, composer to the Chapel Royal, conductor of the
Academy of Ancient Music, director of the oratorios at Drury Lane and the King's
Theatre, organist of Westminster Abbey, and editor of the first uniform edition of
Handel's works. SW's reference may be to Arnold's disastrous tenancy of
Marylebonc Garden between 1769 and 1774, which reputedly lost him L10,000, or
to the episode in 1794 when he took a lease of the Lyceum near Exeter Exchange,
which he attempted unsuccessfully to establish as a 'combination playhouse and
circus', but was forced to give up when he was unable to retain a licence (Grove';
BD
5. The 'Scotch Dance' from the ballet Little Pcggy's Love by Cesare Bossi (1774/5-
1802), frequently performed at this time as a separate itcm, and popular in
arrangements for piano: see The Celebrated Scotch Air danced by Madam Ililligsbere
... in Little Peggy's Love. arranged as a Rondo for the Piano Forte by M. P. King
[1796? j (CPM D.
6. A song by Harriat Abrams.
7. John 1: 47.
8. Martin Luther (1483-1546), whose nailing of nincty-five theses on the sale of
indulgences to the church door at Wittemberg in 1517 instigated the Reformation.
9.2 Kgs. 9: 32.
129

To George Smithl Caniden Town, 14 August 1808
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 31764, f. 24)
Addressed: To I-
Smith Ese I Fevcrsham2 I Kent *
Pmk: AU 15 1808
Sir
On Ibursday last I was informed by your excclicnt & vcry
extraordinary Daughter, that you have (for the present) waved all Thoughts
of her applying to the Organ, as in that Case it would be absolutely necessary
for her to practise upon that Instrument, without which it were utterly
impossible to acquire the true Style of it, & as I before observed, this is so
totally different & contrary to that of the Piano Forte, that the equal Study of
both would unavoidably disturb & impede the Progress on either.
I am told by MI BarneO that you wish Miss Smith to commence
private Lessons upon the Piano Forte, & in Consequence of her uncommon
Abilities, it appears to me quite sufficient for her to take these Lessons only,
I
& to give up the School Lessons altogether. "- It rcmains with you to
determine whether she shall have one or two Hours in the Course of the same
Week. -
If she continue to improve in the Ratio which I have hitherto
witnessed, I am of Opinion that one Hour in a Week will do great 11ings. -
At all Events, I do sincerely assure you Sir, my Opinion of your Daughter's
musical Talent is so high, & my Partiality to her whole Behaviour so great,
that rather than not proceed in endeavouring to make her a first rate
130

Performer, I would sacrifice my Time gmtU for the Purpose; You may
therefore hence conclude that pecuniary Consideration has no much to do with
my Proposals of her Advancement. &I sliall fccl myself peculiarly gratified
by being able ultimately to produce my Pupil to the musical Criticks such as
I know she must prove, if her future Acquircmcnts shall kccp Pace with
present Acquisitions.
She has considerably surprizcd me by her mpid Comprehension &
Execution of Cramer's first Book of the Studio; ' the Remainder of which she
has so successfully digested during the late Holidays; 6 & die Manner in which
she went on Thursday through some of the Examples which she had not
acquired previously with me, afforded me extreme Delight, & prophecied so
much Perfection, that I really regard myself singularly fortunate in having
happened upon a real Genius for the Exertion of very high & rare musical
Powers, joined to the very best Disposition for Instruction, as her mild &
docile Temper cannot fail to accelerate her Improvement in a Way seldom to
be witnessed.
I really could go on to expatiate upon the rare Intelligence of your
amiable young Lady, till I might be suspected of Flattery on that Point; but
am so conscious of not exaggerating the Fact, (& having been conversant
with great Variety of musical Students from a pretty early Age) that I trust
you will acquit me of any Charge but that to which I willingly plead Zq: tW,
namely, that I contend Miss Smith is, (bonli Fide) possessed of the most
illuminated musical Intellect that I have met with for very many Years.
I remain,
131

With much Respect,
Sir,
Yours most obediently,
& very sincerely
S Wesley
Camden Town I Aug. 14.1808.
Ile father of one of SW's pupils; not otherwise certainly identified. Ile may have
been the George Smith elected a member of the Madrigal Society on 10 Dec. 1798,
when his address was given as the Navy Officc (NIADSOC).
i. e. Faversham, near Canterbury, Kent.
3. One of two sisters, joint proprietors of Oxford House, a girls' school on Marylebone
High Street. where SW had taught music sincc around 1784.
4. it was evidently possible to take lessons either through the school ('school lessons')
or by private arrangement with the teacher ('private lessons').
5. Johann Baptist Cramer's influential and widcly used Studio Per il Pianoforte (1804-
10), a collection of piano exercises and studies in all the major and minor keys.
.
6.7be
summer holidays appear to have begun around midsummer, and the new term
to have started in early Aug.
f
132

To [Benjamin Jacob]' [Caniden Town], 28 August [180811
ALS, 1 p. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 39)
Sunday. 28 Aug.
My dear Sir
Many thanks for your kind Attention: I herewith return a Book which
I borrowed on Friday last as a Compagnon de Voyage, though he is not the
most flattering Friend in the World. - "The Centaur not fabulous"' is among
the bitterest of religious Satires, & although I believe D' Young might mean
to do good by whatever he wrote, there is always an Asperity of Mind, &a
gloomy Cast of Disposition in the Majority of his Works, which seems to
have been the Result of either a saturnine Temper, or some disappointed
Passion.
I was certainly in very good Humour for playing yesterday Evening. -
I know not whether I was not put rather upon my ? &ttle by my old Rival's
Introduction of his two Critical Companions. "- That M' AbboO seems to
know something about the Matter, but I guess that he is one who delights to
mix among his Praise "as much detraction as he ran. "-
Your Man is in Haste, which renders me equally so to conclude myself
D' Sir
Yours most truly
133

S. Wesley
M" W. desires her kind Respects.
P. S. -I will write to you before Sunday.
1. Although lacking an address portion, it is clear from the content and present location
of thisloter that it is to Jacob.
2. The year is established by 28 Aug. falling on a Sunday and SWs Inclusion of'kind
Respects' from 'Mrs W': he and Charlotte were still living togcthcr in 1808, but
separated in early 1810.
3. The Centaur not Fabulous (1755), by Edward Young (1683-1765). Young was a
favourite author of SW's father, and echoes from Night Thought , Young's most
celebrated work, frequently appear in his hymns and poems (J. R. Watson,
_U_q
English Hymn (Oxford, 1997), 251-3).
SW's 'old riyal' may have been his brother Charles. 7be 'two critical companions'
have not been identified.
5. Not identified: perhaps one of the 'critical companions'.
134

To [Benjaniin Jacob]' Cainden Town, 17 September 1808
ALS, 7 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 1)
Sepl! 17.1808
Dear Sir
I am much obliged by your ingenious & circumstantial Dctail of your
Success with Saint Sebastian, 2 as you very properly term him, & am rejoiced
to find that you are likely to regard his Works with me as a musical Bible,
unrivalled, & inimitable.
am grieved to witness in my valuable Friend Doctor Burney's
Critique' (for he is a Man whom I equally respect and love) so slight an
Acquaintance with the great & matchless Genius whom he professes to
analyze: &I have however much Satisfaction in being able to assure you fEQM
my own personal Experience that his present judgement of our Dcmi-God is
of a very different Nature from that at the Time he imprudently, incautiously,
and we may add, ignorantly pronounced so rash & false a verdict (altho' a
false Verdict is a Contradiction in Terms) as that which I this Day read for the
first Time, upon "the greatest Master of Harmony in any Age or Country. "
It is now (I think) nearly a Twelvemonth since I wrote to the Doctor
respecting my profound Admiration (& Adoration if you like it as well) of
Sebastian: 4 I stated to him that I had made a Study of his Preludes & Fugues,
adding that his Compositions had opened to me an entirely new musical
135

World, which was to me at least as surprizing as (when a Child) I was
thunderstruck by the opening of the Dettingcn Tc-Dcum at the Bristol
Cathedral, with about an hundred Performers: (a great Band in those Days. )5-
I went into something like a general Description of what I conceived to be his
characteristic Beauties, & particularly specified Ak as one of the chief & most
striking. 'J-- I have by me the Doctor's Reply to my Letter, ' although I cannot
at the present Moment advert to it, but I fully remember his observing in
nearly the following Words, "In order to be consistent with myself with
regard to the great Sebastian Bach, before I precisely coincide with you, I
must refer to what I have written at various Times, & in various Places of my
History, Travels, &c. in which I had Occasion to mention him, but I shall feel
exceedingly gratified in hearing his elaborate & erudite Compositions
performed by you (for I never yet heard any one of them) & can tell you that
I have a very curious & beautiful Copy of his Fugpes, which was presented
to me many years since by his Son Emanuel, ' & which I shall have much
pleasure in shewing you. "
When I waited on my venerable Friend, he had been kind enough to
previously lay upon his Music Desk the ILS in Question (together with several
other beautiful & superb Works of our immortal Master); but when I came to
examine this said rare Present, how much was I surprized to find it so full of
scriptural Faults, that it was not without some Difficulty I could manage to do
Justice to one of the Fugues which I had been formerly the most familiar with,
& although I did not boggl , yet I played with extreme Discomfortl- My
Friend however was extremely delighted, & the very first Part of his Critique
136

expressed his Wonder how such abstnise Harmony & such-perfect-A
enchanting Melody could bave been so mirvellollsly-unitccll-
What a convincing Proof this is that his formcr Criticism upon our
matchless Author was an hasty & improvident StepI I conceive that the Fact
stands thus: When Bumey was in Germany, the universal Plaudits &
Panegyricks upon the Father of universal -
Ilarm2-ny were so interesting, that
it would have been impossible for him to have avoided giving such a Man a
Place in his Account of Musical Authors in his General Ilistory: '--
Nevertheless it appears very evidently from the erroneous Sentence he has
pronounced therein upon the Comparative Merit of him & Ilandel, " that he
never could have taken due Pains to make himself Mastcr of the Subject;
otherwise his late candid Acknowledgment would not have been made; and is
Proof sufficient that he only wanted Experience of the Truth to make him
ready & willing to own it.
I must also tell you another Piece of News; namely that this imperfect
& incorrect Volume, this valuable & inestimable Gift of Sebastian's dutiful
Son, happens to contain only the 24 first Preludes & Fugues; all written in the
Soprano Clef, (to make them more easily understood, I suppose), " & the
Preludes so miserably mangled & mutilated, that had I not met them in such
a Collection as that of the learned & highly illuminated Doctor Burney, I
verily believe that I should have exclaimed, "An Enemy hath done this" ; 12 1
should have at once concluded that such a Manuscript could have been made
only by him who was determined to disgrace instead of promote the Cause of
correct Harmony. 13
137

N
Ever since I had the Privilege of so great a Triumph (for I can call it
nought else) over the Doctor's Prejudice, lie has evinced the most cordial
Veneration for our sacred Musician, & when I told him that I was in
Possession of 24 more such precious Relicks, " lie was all aghast in finding
that there could be any Productions of such a Nature which he had not seen: "
this again is another proof of his having hastily judged, & also how rcmiss the
Germans must have been, not to have made him better acquainted with the
Works, of their transcendant Countryman.
I am told by the Rev' M' Picart, " (one of the Canons of Hereford
Cathedral) that Seb. B. has written Pieces for three Organs, " & innumerable
others which are not sent to England purely from the Contempt which the
Germans entertain of the general State of Music in this Country, & which
unfavourable sentiment, I am sorry to say, has but too much foundation on the
Truth.
You see, that there are others who have as much Cause to apologize
for the length of Letters as you, if Apology were at all necessary among
Friends, but yours, which I this Day received has given me so much real
Satisfaction, as I fully trust that you are determined to defend the cause of
Truth & Sebastian (for they are one) against all the frivolous Objections of
Ignorance, & the transparent Cavils of Envy, that I safely rely upon you as
one of my right hand Men against all the prejudiced Handelians. -
It has been
said that Comparisons are odious; but without Comparison, where is
Discrimination? and without Discrimination, how are we to attain a just
Judgement? - Let us always weigh fairly as far as human Powers will allow,
138

& endeavour to divest ourselves of the Propensity which leads us eitlicr to
idolize or execrate whatever we have been unfortunately habituated so to do,
without previous
& due Examination.
I feel great gratification in having been sicccssoly to your Study of
Sebastian: I knew that you had only to know him to love & adore him, &I
sincerely assure you, that in meeting so true an Enthusiast in so good a Cause
(& depend on it that nothing very good or very great is done without
Enthusiasm) I experience a warmth of Heart which only Enthusiasts know or
can value.
That our Friendship may long continue, either with or without
Enthusiasm (tho' I think a Spice of it even there no bad thing) believe me, is
the very cordial wish of
Dear Sir-
Yours very faithfully
S Wesley
1. Although lacking an address portion, it is clear from the content and present location
of this letter that it is to Jacob.
2. SW's reference to Bach as 'Saint Sebastian' and his extended use of religious
imagery when discussing him and his music is charactcristic.
3. Either in the two passages from Bumey's Histo quoted below (see nn. 9 and 10),
or in his article on Bach in Rees: 'Sebastian Bach is said by Marpurg, in his 'Art de
la Fugue, * to have been *many musicians in one, profound in science, fertile in
fancy, and in taste easy and natural; " he should rather have said original and refined.
for to the epithets easy and natural many are unwilling to assent; as this truly great
139

man seems by his works for the organ, to have been constantly in search of what was
new and difficult, without the least attention to nature and facility. ' For Burney's
contributions to Rees and the relationship of these to his earlier writings, see Roger
Lonsdale, 'Doctor Burncy's *Dictionary of Music", Musimlo
,5 (1977), 159-7 1.
4. This letter. presumably written in Sept. or Oct. 1807, is not preserved.
5. This performance of Handel's Dcttingcn Te Dcurn (1743) may have been at the
annual Festival of the Sons of the Clergy, held in Bristol Cathedral each Aug.; it
presumably took place some time before 1776, when the Wesley family moved
permanently to London. Alternatively, it may have been at a special service In the
Cathedral for the benefit of the Infirmary: one such service, which included the
Datingen Tc Deum, was held on 31 Mar. 1774 (advertised Felix Farley's Bristol
Journal, 26 Mar. 1774, report 2 Apr. 1774; see also F. G. Edwards, 'Samuel
Wesley a Boy-Poet, MT, 48 (1907). 91-4).
6. A pointed rejoinder to one of Burney's chief criticisms of Bach: see nn. 9 and 10.
7. Not preserved.
8. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-88), son of J. S. Bach, whom Burney had visited
in Hamburg in Oct. 1772 (Percy A. Scholes (ed. ), Dr Burney's-Musical Tours in
Europe, 2 vols. (London, 1959), ii. 219-20; Ilans-Guntcr Ottcnbcrg, C. P. E. Bach
(Oxford, 1987), 145-6).
9. Burney had written: 'Of the illustrious musical family of BACH I have frequently
had occasion for panegyric. The great Sebastian Bach, music-dircctor at Lcipsic, no
less celebrated for his performance on the organ and compositions for that
instrument, than for being the father of four sons, all great musicians in different
branches of the art If Sebastian Bach and his admirable son Emanuel, instead of
....
being musical-directors in commercial cities, had been fortunately employed to
compose for the stage and public of great capitals, such as Naples, Paris, or London,
and for performers of the first class, they would doubtless have simplified their style
more to the level of theirjudges; the one would have sacrificed all unmeaning art and
140

contrivance, and the other been less fantastical and rcchcrchd and both. by writing
in a style more popular, and generally Intelligible and pleasing, would have extended
their fame, and been indisputably the greatest musicians of the present century'
(Ilisto
, iv. 594-5; Mercer, ii. 954-5).
10. 'Handel was perhaps the only great Fughist, exempt from pedantry. fie seldom
treated barren or crude subjects; his themes being almost always natural and pleasing.
Sebastian Bach, on the contrary, like Michael Angelo in painting, disdained facility
so much, that his genius never stooped to the easy and graceful. I never have seen
a fugue by this learned and powerful author [i. e. J. S. Bach) upon a MojLY2 that is
natural and chantant; or even an easy and obvious passage. that is not loaded with
crude and difficult accompaniments' (Ilisto
, iii. 110; Mcrcer, ii. 96).
11. A sarcastic reference to the choice of clef for the notation of the upper stave of the
manuscript: the soprano clef would in fact have been more difficult to read than the
more usual treble clef.
12. Matt. 13: 28.
13. For a subsequent account of this meeting, see SW to Charles Butler, 7 Oct. 1812.
14. i. e. Book 11 of the '48.
15. According to Burney's account of his visit in Dr Burney's Musical Tours in Europe,
ii. 219-20, C. P. E. Bach had showed Burney two manuscript volumes of fugues,
which Ottenbcrg takes to have been both books of the '48'.
16. S=uel Picart (1774/5-1835), matric. Brasenose College, Oxford (1792), BA (1796),
MA (1803), BD (1810), senior master of Hereford School (1803), Prebendary of
Hereford (1805), and Rector of Hartlebury (1817-35) (Foster). Ile subscribed to
Novello's A Collection of Sacred Musi (1811) and to the Wesley-Horn edition of
the '48', and was a noted collector of music (Foster; Percy M. Young, The Bichs-
1500-1850 (London, 1970), 295-6; King, 47).
17. Picart's reference was presumably to pieces which require thrce-manual instruments.
141

To Benjamin Jacob [Caniden Town], 17 October 1808
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 5)
Addressed: To I M' Jacobs I Charlotte Street I Black Friar's Road I Oct' 17
1808.
Pmk: 17 OC 1808
My dear Sir
We are going on swimmingly. Mr. Hom' (the Music Master to the
Princesses) is furthering the Cause of our grand Ilero, with Might & Main. Ile
had arranged 12 of the Fugues for 4 Instrumente before I had die Pleasure of
his Acquaintance, & was longing to find some spirited enthusiast like himself,
to co-operate in bringing the musical World to Reason & Common Sense, &
to extort a Confession of the true State of the Case against the Prepossession,
Prejudice, Envy, & Ignorance of all anti-Bachists.
We are (in the first Place) preparing for the Press an authentic &
accurate Life of Sebastian, which "
Stephenson the Banker-' (a most zealous
& scientific Member of our Fraternity) has translated into English from the
Gennan of Forkel, & wherein is a List of all the Works of our Apollo. "- Ibis
we propose to publish by Subscription, as a preparatory Measure to editing the
Fugues, ' & which will naturally cause a considerable Sensation not only in the
musical but also in the literary WorlV- Is not this all as you would have it? -
cannot doubt your Affirmative, & you perceive that I have not been idle.
It appears by the Life of Sebastian, that he was not only the greatest
142

Master in the World, but also one of the most worthy & amiable Characters
that ever adomed Society. - I remember often exclaiming when working at
him "I am sure that none but a gg! 2d man could have written thus, " & you
perceive that my Conjecture was accurate.
M' Horn has a vast Quantity of his Compositions that have never seen
the Light; among the Rest, stupendous Trios for the Organ, ' which lie used
to play thus: his right Hand played the f irst Part on the Top Row of the
Clavier; his left the 2d Part on the 2nd Row, & he played the Base wholly
upon'the Pedals. There are Allegro Movements among them. & occasionally
very brisk notes in the Base Part, whence it appears that lie was alike dextrous
both with Hands & Feet. '
Horn has a further Design than the mere Publication of our 48
Preludes & Fugues; he wishes to extend the Work to a complete Edition of all
his Compositions that are to be found: and if God spare our Health, why
should we despair of presenting the World with "all these Treasures of
Wisdom & Knowledge? "
He is as indefatigable as yourself, & has written with his own Hand
whole Centuries of Pages which would amaze you. -
Ile has not only
transcribed all the 48 Preludes & Fugues, but also written them on Paper
ruled for the purpose, capacious enough to contain an entire Fugg ,
however
long, upon two Pages only, thus avoiding the Inconvenience of turning over,
for which there is hereby no necessity even from the Beginning of the Work
to the End.
MI Kollman in his Essay on Practical Musical Composition 1799 has
143

published one of those Trios above mentioned, '* towards the End of the
musical examples (N. 58). - by this you will be able to judge of the rest; for
there is no Inferiority throughout them: all are equally admirable & excellent
altho' each in an entirely different Style.
I sadly want to see you, tho' I know not well how to contrive it: S'
Paul's opens again on Sunday next, " &I have promised Attwood to look in
there in the Morning: In what part of the same Day should I be most likely
to find you?
Yours ever truly
S Wesley
I know not MI Neate's 12 correct Address; will you therefore be so kind as to
forward the enclosed to him immediately?
Do not forget my best Regards to my kind Friend M" Jacobs.
1. Charles Frederick Horn (1762-1830), German-born organist, teacher, composer, and
theorist, who had come to England in 1782. Ile was Queen Charlotte's music teacher
from 1789 to 1783, and thereafter taught various members of the royal family,
including some of the daughters of George III and Charlotte. Ile was an important
figure in the English Bach movement: in addition to his arrangement of Bach fugues
for string quartet discussed in this letter, he was later co-editor with SW of the organ
Trio Sonatas and of the first English edition of the '48'.
2. A Sett of twelve Fugues com22sed for the Organ by Sebastian Bach ... arn. n zed a
Quartettos (1807); the Preface is dated 1 May 1807. Ilorn's title reflected the general
belief at this time that Bach's keyboard fugues were all written for the organ. Only
ten of the set are in fact from the '48': the fugues in C major and CO minor from
Book 1, and the fugues in D major, E6 major. 1)0/13ý minor, E maJor. 0 minor,
144

A6 major, B6 minor, and B major from Book 11; some of these arc transposed into
keys more convenient for stringed instruments. Ile remaining two fugues are the
organ fugue in D minor, BWV 538 (Ile
Dorian') and the probably spurious
keyboard fugue in B6 on 'BACI V, BWV 898.
3. Edward Stephenson (1759-1833), banker, =atcur musician and collector of music
and violins, was a long-standing friend of Ilom, and was (with J. P. Salomon)
godfatherto Hom's son Charles Edward (1786-1849). Ile and Ilornwcre at thistime
neighbours: he lived at 29 Queen's Square Bloomsbury. and I lorn at No. 25.1 Ic has
in the past been erroneously identified as Rowland Stephenson (1782-1856), his
brother-in-law (Grove .
4. An announcement that SW and Hom were preparing a translation of Forkel's Ober
Johann Sebastian Bachs Ubcn. Kunst. und Kunstwetkc for the press appeared in the
Nov. number of Ile Librarian and the Dec. number of MM, although without
identifýbg Stephenson as the translator. 7"his translation did not appear, and the first
English translation (rcprinted in New Bach Reide ,
419-82) was finally published in
1 1820; the idcntity of its translator and its relationship to the Stephenson translation
are not known (New Bach Reader; Walter Emery, 'The English Translator of
Forkel', ML, 28 (1947), 301-2).
5. i. e. the '48'. In fact, it was not until almost a year later that SW and Horn began to
prepare this edition: see SW to [Hom?], k. 30 September 18091. Ile edition was
announced in the Mar. 1810 number of NINI and was published in four parts between
Sept. 1810 and July 1813.
6. In a letter now lost, SW had written to tell Burney about Ilom and their plans to
publish Stephenson's translation of Forkel. In his reply of 17 Oct. 1808 (Osborn),
Bumey had replied: 'I =
glad you like Mr Horn; I have never seen him- but from
all that I have heard of him, I set him down in my mcntal list as a worthy, ingenious,
& liberal minded professor ....
With respect to your plan of publishing the life of our
divine Sebastian jointly with hir I lorn, I shall be extremely glad to have a Lajk with
145

you on so very interesting a Subject; you and your co-partncr will confer honour on
yourselves by blazoning the powers of our Idol. I have formcrly had some dealings
with Dr Forkel- I have not the honour of knowing hir Stephenson- if his translation
of the life is well done, it is pity to undcrtake a new version. I wish you had perused
it. Mr Kollmann's Geese, you know. arc all Swans'. Ile implication of the latter
part of this quotation may be that objections had been raised by Kollmann to the
quality of Stephenson's translation, but that Burney considered them to be
exaggerated and not sufficient to justify the comn-dssioning of a new translation.
7. The six Trio Sonatas for organ, BWV 525-30, an edition of which was published In
separate numbers by SW and 11orn in 1809. In his Rcminiscenccs SW implied that
the editorial work and the authorship of the preface were his alone.
8. SW's remarks show how little was known of Bach's organ music at this time, even
by musicians: he needed to spell out to Jacob the importance of Bach's pedal parts
and the fact that Bach was 'alike dexterous both with hands and feet'.
9. Col. 2: 3.
10. The Trio Sonata No. 1 in E flat, BWV 525, which appears as Pl. 58-67.
11.23 Oct.; the reason for the closure is not known.
12. Charles Neate (1784-1877), pianist and composer, doubtless the Waster Neate' who
played a piano concerto at Ashley's performance of Haydn's Creation performance
at Covent Garden on 4 Apr. 1800. He joined the Royal Society of Musicians in 1806
and was a founder member of the Philharmonic Society in 1813, when his address
was given as 4 Duke Street, Portland Place (Matthews; Loan 48.1).
146

To Benjamin Jacob Camden Town, 19 October [1808]1
ALS, 3 pp.
(RCM, MS 2130, f. 7)
Addressed: To I M' Jacobs I Organist I Charlotte, Street I Black Friar's
Road.
Camden Town.
Wednesday Ev" Oct 19.
MY dear Sir,
I thought you would be gratified in gaining early Intelligence of our
Ifttention to come forward with Memoirs of our matchless Man (if Man he
may be called), as I am clearly of Opinion that they will serve as a thorough
Defiance of all the Snarlers & would-be-Criticks, howsoever dispersed
throughout the British Empire. -
Upon the Continent his Fame has been so
long circulated & established that they must have for many years past sneered
at our Ignorance of such an Author, professing (as we do) to be a Nation
attached to Music. -
Salomon has said truly & shrewdly enough that the
English know very little of the Works of the Gennan Masters, Handel
excepted, who (as he observes) came over hither when there was a great
Dearth of good Musick, & here he remained (these are his Words)
establishing a Reputation wholly Constituted upon the Spoils of the Continentý
This would nettle the Handelians devilishly, however it is the strict
Truth, for we all know how he has pilfered from all Manner of Authors
147

whence he could filch any thing like a Thought worth embodying, & altho'
it is certain that what he had taken he has generally improved on (not when
he robbed the Golden Treasury of Sebastian, by the Way) yet there is such a
Meanness in putting even his own Subjects in so mady different Works over
& over again, vide his Lessons, Concertos, Chamber-Duets, Instrumental
Trios, & almost all his Compositions, that I do sinccrcly think, & am rcady
to maintain it among sensible unprejudiced Judges, (for it is but time lost to
argue with Bigots, which is another Word for Madmen) [that) Handel, for so
great a Master, has as little just claim to the Merit of original Genius as the
most servile of his Imitators. '
I am glad you tickled up Gaffer Steve& a Bit: I need not tell you that
half, & more than half even of such Professors as ought to know & do better,
give a Decision hap-Hazard upon sundry Matters which they have never duly
considered- I am delighted that you happened to remember Burney's identical
Words: ' your anticipation of what hO was about to say must have been not an
agreýjable Surprize, but rather of the confounding Kind. Just - while I think
of it let me provide you with immediate Ammunition against the feeble
Defence of Handel upon the score of his clear & marked Subjects. rMe
Doctor's Fugue you have accurately, as also the Judgement Fugue, & what
I call the Saints in Gloil Fugue, by which I mean that in E Major, 40 0.7
Add to this the one hard by it in E6 Major, &I
think these will furnish
sufficient for many Rounds against such as "love Darkness rather than Light,
because their Eyes & Ears are evil. "'
However, as I before observed to you, History & Experience teach us,
148

that the Progress of Truth, however slow, is always infallibly sure. - How
many hundreds have been regarded as Ilercticks; & Atheists (& treated
accordingly) for maintaining that the Earth lurns-round, & now, who but
Savages & Ideots believe the contrary? - Ilie Affair is this: a great Majority
of those who exist, or at least derive Emolument by teaching & govcming
others, are themselves very incompetento either: it is natural that they should
dread the Detection of their Ignorance, since, as was said of old, "it is by this
Craft they get their Gain. "
You may rely on it that you yourself are looked upon with a thorough
envious Eye by your Brother Organists, who instead of endeavouring
successfully to imitate your persevering Industry, by which you have
accomplished so much, & gained such a clear Insight into the true Style of our
Autho[r, ] prefer the shorter & easier Way (as they think) of establishing their
Pretentions to Criticism by defaming their Superiors.
Your Letter found me this Evening in my Chamber, to which I have
been confined all Day, or rather from which I dreaded to go out, having had
a severe Touch of a bilious Complaint, to which I am occasionally subject,
particularly at this Time of the year: but a Day's nursing &a few grains of
Rhubarb & Magnesia or the like, almost always set me to Rights again, &I
fully expect to get out To-morrow, of which indeed I should much regret to
be disappointed, as I am engaged to a Party'O where we are to have some
Sebastian, arranged by Hom for 2 Violins, Tenor & Bass, " &a glorious
Effect they produce, as you may guess. -
What must they do in a full
Orchestra!
12
149

Even Germans themselves are not free from the Envy of such a
transcendant Genius. I will not tell you the Name of the Person till Sunday
(for I mean to be with you) neither would you bclicv ,& perhaps can hardly
credit it on my solemn Asseveration that a Man of real musical Judgement,
some Science, & admirable Talent on his own Instrument, compared one of
those Fugues which Hom has arranged (which you do not remember as it is
not among the 48), " to a Hog floundering in the Mud.
Thank Heaven that Prejudice & Spite, however prevalent in England,
are not solely found here: if it were so, I should wish rather to be ranked
among the honest Hindoo Barbarians.
Adieu, I trust to see you on Sunday by 1 o'Clock.
Yours ever truly
S. Wesley
Mr, W. joins in best wishes to MI J. yourself & Family.
1. The year is given by 19 October falling on a Wednesday and SW's Camden Town
address.
2. After an early career in Halle, Hamburg, and Italy, Handel had arrived in England
late in 1710 and rapidly established himself as the foremost composer in England.
3. Handel's borrowings, both from himself and from other composers, were well known
in the late eighteenth century (see Burney, Histo
. iii. 536, iv. 154,315; Mercer,
ii. 426,617,742-3),
and were discussed at around this time by Crotch in his
lectures. Although Handel was sometimes criticized for lack of originality, he
generally escaped the more serious charge of plagiarism: a commonly expressed view
was that what he borrowed, he repaid with interest. For a conspectus of attitudes
over two centuries to Handel's borrowings, see George J. Buclow, 'The Case for
150

Handel's Borrowings: the Judgment of Three Ccnturics' In Stanley Sadie and
Anthony Hicks (eds. ), Handel-Terccntgnary Collmig
(London. 1987), 61-82. SW
was not usually so censorious of Handel: on other occasions he was quick to spring
to his defence against anti-Handelians (see SW to Novcllo, 17 Feb. 1813). Ile
reference in his accusation of Handel's plagiarism of Bach Is not clear, unless by
'The Golden Treasury' he meant the '48' and was thinking of the close similarity
between the subject of the chorus 'And with his stripes we are
healed' from Messiah
and the A minor Fugue from Book 11. But Ilandcl could not have known the '48'.
and the subject in question is in any case a stock clich6 of the period and was no
more Bach's property than Handcl's.
4. R. J. S. Stevens. In his diary entry for 12 Oct., he noted: 'Coffee with [Joseph]
Smith. Bradbury Trueman and Jacobs there, who played some of Sebastian Bach's
fugues' (Argent, 164). SW is probably referring to this occasion.
5. Perhaps the comparisons between Bach and Handel in Burney's Ilisto and his
contributions to Rees (see SW to Jacob, 17 Sept. 1808. n. 9).
6. i. e. Stevens.
7. i. e. fugues by Bach with 'clear and marked subjects'. to counter Stevens's criticism.
The 'Doctor's Fugue' and the 'Judgement Fugue' have not been identified. It seems
likely from SW's choice of the E major fugue (the'Saints
in Glory Fugue') and the
one 'hard by it' in E flat that he was referring here to Book 11 of the '48'.
8. John 3: 19.
9. Acts 19: 25: a reference is to Demetrius and other silversmiths of Ephesus, who
derived their income from making shrines to Diana, and whose activities St Paul
soughto curb.
10. in Paddington: see SW to his mother, 20 Oct. [18081 (John Wesley's Chapel,
London).
11. i. e. from Hora's A Sctt of twelve Fugues: see SW to Jacob, 17 Oct. 1808, n. 2.
12. Less than a year later SW included an arrangement of the D major fugue from Book
151

11 of the '48' (one of the fugues arranged by Horn) In a revised version of his D
major organ conccrto which hc performcd at Tamworth: sce SW to Jacob. 25 Scpt.
1809.
13. Either the organ fugue in D minor, BWV 538 ('Tlie Dorian') or the probably
spurious keyboard fugue in B flat on BACII. BNVV 898.
152

To [Benjamin Jacob]' [Camden Town], [17 November 1808? 11
ALS, 4 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 9)
Editor's note This letter is dated 17 November 1808 id pencil in another hand,
possibly that of Eliza Wesley.
My dear Sir,
I always suspect the Sincerity of sudden Conversions.
- Had not my
BrotheP known of your intimate Acquaintance with me, I should have bcen
sooner induced to think that his Heart & his Words went together on Monday
Night, but as I know he can play Salomon's Tricks (if not upon the Fiddle,
yet upon a more dangerous instrument described by S' James), " I own I am a
N,
little of the-SadduceO in the present Instance, & wn rcallY afraid that (in
regard to my Brother's real Opinion of Bach) "there is no Resurrection. "'
I have already repeatedly expressed to you my Regret that a Man of
my Brother's very transcendant musical Knowledge & skill should have been
so betrayed by bad Company into Habits of thinking & acting so diametrically
opposite to his Convictions & better Judgement: of course it follows (and I am
sure that you will give me Credit for it) that whatever I ever have said or ever
shall say, which may have an Appearance of Severity, can not be the Result
of any worse Principle than the grief, not the Ange ,I
feel in the Perversion
& Perversity of such a mind.
Well then, you will not suppose that in what I speak to you
confidentially concerning C. W. I have either "Envy, Hatred, Malice, or
153

Uncharitableness. "7 The Searcher of all Hearts knoweth. the contrary: I think
of him with some Pleasure, as to the native & original Goodncss of his
Disposition, but with more Melancholy when I consider such a cruet Sacrifice
to the Whims & Artifices of designing Persons who have made him the mere
Puppet of their base & interested Designs.
Now to more pleasing Reflexions. -- I am glad that you brought
forward the Hymn Tuneg for two Reasons, the former (& the better) because
I know it is just in the Style which particularly pleases C. W. (for his best
Compositions are pathetic: ) &2 dly if he should venture to report the Fact to
our worthy Sister, 9 she will be extraordinarily chagrined in finding that a Man
whom she has represented (these are her own words) as "destitute of every
Sentiment, of Justice, Honour, or Integrity"" should have had sufficient
Respect to pX religious Words to think of setting them to Music: I dare say
she will add that they are thoroughly profaned by the experiment.
Your playing Bach on Monday set my Brother upon his Battle-Horse.
I'll answer for it that he made Handel's Harmonies tolerably full. - I never yet
found any other Man who seemed so made for him. - Kelway, " C. W. 's
Harpsichord Master (an admirable Musician & perfect Player) was known to
have said every where that W. played Handel in a vastly superior Manner
even to Handel himself. -
Kelway (by the Way) was one of the most accurate
Criticks of Performance of his (or perhaps any other) Time. --
I can have no possible Objection to acceding to your Request about
sitting to MI Bacon, 12 but would wish to know how long at one Time he would
require my Attendance: it will be extremely agreeable to me to be better
154

acquainted with him, &I wish you to signify the same to him at your first
convenient Opportunity.
If he will give me Legal Notice, by which I mean about the space of a
Week, I will wait upon him with much Pleasure; we cýn then settle a Time
for my sitting to him, which I do not think would suit me on any day when
go to Cossens's. 13 as I am always full of crowded Work then from Morning
till Night.
Pray infonn M' G. Gwilt, " that I shall with great satisfaction attend
him on Wednesday: " I must cut & contrive how to manage, for this is my
Paddington Day, &I must be cunning to transfer some of the Business on the
Occasion. I fear there is no Possibility of getting previously to your Organ, 16
because it will be no easy Matter for me to get into your Latitude sooner than
1h past 4, & even then I must beg Leave to attend the Brats at a much earlier
Hour than usual in order to accomplish this. "
You may also tell Elliott" that I will dine with him on some Day
between the 201 & 27' as desired, altho' I do not love "a little Church
Organ. "- Perhaps this is only an Antiphrasis, & that he & you mean a great
one.
Remember me in the kindest way to M"
I
& all my young Bachists, &I trust that I shall remain, (not only in this, but
in a better World, )
Your lasting Friend,
Wesley.
155

1. Although lacking an address portion, it is clear from the content and present location
of this letter that it is to Jacob.
2. This date is added on the manuscript in pencil in another hand, and Is repeated in
Eliza Wesley's edition. It is possible that it was taken from a postmark or a date on
an address panel which is no longer extant.
3. SW's brother Charles had evidently been evincing some enthusiasm for Bach's
music. SW was not disposed to trust the sincerity of his words: Charles was an arch-
conservative and a staunch Ilandelian in his musical tastes.
4. The tongue: see Jas. 3: 1-12.
5. The Sadducces were the traditionalist Jewish priestly party, noted for their
reactionary conservatism.
6. Matt. 22: 23.
BCP: Ile Litany.
8. Possibly SW's 'Might I in thy sight appear' (1807), the opening of which he quotes
in his next letter to Jacob.
9. SW's elder sister Sarah (1759-1827). She was involved in a small way in various
literary activities and acted as governess to a number of families; by this time she
was increasingly involved with the care of her mother, with whom she and her
brother Charles continued to live. SW's relations with her and Charles had been
strained since his adolescence, and for much of his adult life he had little contact with
them except in times of personal or financial crisis. Sarah's many letters to SW
(which, untypically, he preserved) are characterized by plain speaking and frequent
criticisms of his conduct.
10. Evidently a quotation from a letter from Sarah: not preserved.
11. Joseph Kelway (c. 1702-82), English organist, harpsichordist, and composer, organist
at St Michael's, Cornhill (1730) and St Martin's in the Fields (1736). lie had been
the teacher of SW's brother Charles and earlier of Handel's friend Mrs Delany, who
rated him 'little inferior to Handel'. Burney described his playing style as one of
156

'masterly wildness ...
bold, rapid, and fanciful'(Grov ; Burney, Ilisto
, iv. 664;
Mercer, ii. 1009).
12. Like his father John Bacon the elder (1740-99). John Bacon (1777-1859) was a highly
prolific sculptor who specialized in monuments. After initial training from his father
he entered the Royal Academy Schools in 1782. lie won a silver medal in 1786 and
a gold medal in 1797, and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1792 to 1824. Ile
was another member of the Weslcy-Jacob circle of Bach enthusiasts, and had
apparently succeeded in introducing the music of Bach to his own children. In a letter
to him of 12 Dec. 1808 (Emory), Jacob remarked: 'It delights me to hear that your
children are Bachistsl What a convincing proof it is that the subjects are natural and
beautiful for otherwise babes would not be able to reach them, and there arc several
families within my circle, where the divine strains are to be heard from the lisping
voices of infants. ' Jacob went on to quote a passage from SW's letter to him of 8
Dec. SW sat for his portrait, which was completed and delivered to Jacob in Nov.
1809 (Jacob to Bacon, 18 Nov. 1809 (Emory)). The portrait, which according to this
letter was in pencil, has not been traced. For Bacon, see Rupert Gunnis, Dictiona
of British Sculptors 1660-1851 (London, 1953) 28-31.
13. Probably the school in Paddington where SW taught on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
SW's letters to Bacon are addressed to him at Paddington Green, where Bacon may
have had a studio. It may have been suggested to SW that he could conveniently sit
for his portrait while in the neighbourhood.
14. Both George Gwilt (1775-1856) and his brother Joseph (1784-1863) were for a time
members of SW's musical and social circle. Iley were prominent architects, shared
SW's interests in the music of J. S. Bach and Gregorian chant, and were
Freemasons. George Gwilt was a close neighbour of Jacob: he lived close to Surrey
Chapel at 8 (now 18) Union Street QN__B, Howard Colvin, A Biographical Dictionary
of British ATChiteCtS 1600-184 (London, 1978); Survey of London, xxii. 84). For
Joseph Gwilt, see SW to Novello, [24 Nov. 1809].
157

15.23 Nov.
M
At Surrey Chapel.
17. It was a considerable distance from Paddington to the Blackfriars Road area, where
Gwilt and Jacob lived and where Surrey Chapel was situated.
18.7be
organ-builder lbomas Elliot Cc. 1759-1832) was a close professional associate of
SW at this time. Ile built the organ at Surrey Chapel (1793), supplied the organ for
SW's lecture courses at the Royal and Surrey Institutions, and built SW's own house
organ. He had evidently offcrcd to demonstrate 'a little church organ' to SW.
19. i. e. Mrs Jacob. The music example is the opening of the C sharp major fugue from
Book II of the '48'; the significance of its use here is unknown.
158

To Benjamin Jacob [Camden Town], [21 November, 1808? f
ALS, 4 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 11)
My dear Sir,
Although I ftilly hope & expect to enjoy your Company on Wednesday
next, 2 yet as you ask me a question in your last, concerning a Personage' who
(as you very truly observe) is an Acquisition to i_ny musical Cause that he is
_,
determined to espouse, I am pleased in an Opportunity of coinciding with you
upon so agreeable a Subject as a candid Confession proceeding from a mind
formerly prejudiced, but now (I trust) conquered by the irresistible
Omnipotence of Truth.
You ask me what I think- I think with you that my Brother held out
as long as he could, but that being so closely besieged by very many Judges
of Music who have been so thoroughly & sincerely converted to the Truth of
the Bach Perfection, he found it impossible to maintain a tenable Post any
longer, & therefore wisely made a Virtue of Necessity, for I am yet of
Opinion that if he could even now defend the Pre-eminence of Handel, he
would; &I have but little Doubt (so long & so well as I have known him) that
amongst mere Handelians; he will but too readily relapse into Blasphemy.
Now observe, that I do not say this as if I were indifferent on which
side he enlisted, but am only endeavouring to prove to you, from my own
experience, that you will do well not to be too implicit in your Faith, with
Regard to his real Opinion. -
There can be no Question that while he is
159

hearing the Sublimities of our Idol, he must prefer them to any other Sounds
that could have been conceived: but no sooner does a Temptation to his
besqdm Sin (the blind Worship of Handel) fall in his Way, than he returns
"to his Wallowing in the Mire. "--
Time proves all Things, &I sincerely hope (tho' I much doubt) that
it may prove my Conjectures erroneous.
On Wednesday we may appoint a Day for M' Bacon, & on Saturday'
I will some how or other endeavour to manage a Meeting at Elliott's- the fact
is that Saturday is one of my Paddington Days, & there is that Nuisance in
Society yclept a Dancing Master who usurps my Territory till 1 o'Clock,
I have always 4 Hours work after him. The Governess is not among the most
accommodating of her Sex, & often gives herself more Airs than I can very
patiently tolerate. -
Although upon occasion I can be a Match for saucy
people, yet as Litigation always puts me in a Fever (which is a dear Sacrifice
for Victory) I would rather prevent Dispute than exert my Power of Defence. -
- We will however talk this Matter over throughly on Wednesday, or rather
perhaps on Thursday Morning, for I shall make Use of my Blanket Privileg,
in Charlotte Street on the preceding Night, unless any Circumstance in your
domestic Arrangements may possibly render
it inconvenient.
With regard to Lyne's Primer Grammar, ' I can take it with me when
I next part from you. - Charle? is quite ovedoyed in anticipating the Utility
of which I know it will be to him, even now, after having waded through
Lilly's. 8- The Method is beautifully simple, &I am persuaded that with yq-Uj
Application (which I know not a Parallell unto excepting in John Cramer &
160

S' Isaac Newtoný I am persuaded that all the Latin you will find occasion for,
you will acquire within a few Months.
I have changed my form of salutation this Time- Pray remember me
most kindly to MrI
Adieu,
#- r-i
--, --I I r---:: a .
4
I.
P:
-
11ýj r
61 k4 Z--4ZZZLZ4--;
10 etc.
sw
1. This letter is dated 22 Nov. 1808 in another hand. 7bis date, which rnay have been
taken from a postmark on an address portion no longer preserved. is repeated In
Eliza Wesley's edition, and its accuracy is accepted here. 22 Nov. was a Tuesday in
1808; SW's reference to 'Wednesday next' (instead of 'tomorrow' or 'tomorrow
week') for his meeting with Bacon suggests that he may have written the letter in the
evening of Monday 21 Nov.
2. Possibly 23 Nov., the same meeting as referred to in the previous letter.
Charles Wesley jun.
4. cf. 2 Pet. 2: 22: 'The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was
washed to her wallowing in the mire'.
5. Possibly 26 Nov., and the meeting at Elliot's prcraises referred to in the previous
letter.
6. Richard Lyne, An Introductory Book for the Use of Grammar Schools: Ile Latin
Primer (1795), which had evidently supplanted Lilly's Primer (see n. 8).
7. i. e. SW's son. Like his father, he had a lively interest in the classics, and was
evidently a precocious scholar: the Apr. 1808 number of MM carried a letter from
him in which he queried the correctness of the quantity of a syllable used in a Utin
epitaph &M, 25 (1808). 222).
8. William Lily Q1468-1522), A Short Introduction of Grammar ...
for the lBringi
u12 of all those that Intend to Attain to the Knowledge of the Utin Tom (1567).
161

the standard Latin primer in England since the sixteenth century.
9. Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), English scientist and mathematician.
10. The opening of SW's 'Might I in thy sight appear' (1807), a setting for solo voice
and keyboard of v. 4 of his father's hymn 'Saviour. Prince of Israel's race', first
published in Hymns and Sacred Psalms 1 (1749). Autographs of SW's setting arc at'
BL, Add. MSS 14340 and 71107; for modern editions, see Geoffrey Bush and
Nicholas Tcmperley (eds. ), English Songs 1800-1860 (Musica Britannica, vol. 43)
(London, 1979); Robin Langley and Geoffrey Webber (eds.), Swnuel Wesley, Two
Sacred Songs (Oxford, 1997). For SW's later quotation of the text, see SW to
[William Hone], 18 Aug. 1825.
162

To William Crotch Cainden Town, 25 November 1808
ALS, 3 pp. (NRO, MS 11244, T 140A)
Addressed: To I D' Crotch I Dutcliess Street I Portliind Place I Friday 25"
Nov.
Pmk: 4 o'Clock 25 NO
Camdcn Town
Nov. 25 1808
Dear Sir
I hope that I shall always feel ready to render any Service to the cause
of real good Musick, & of all those who are zealous to promote it, among
whom it is known, & acknowledged that you are eminently conspicuous. ' In
answer to your Questions concerning the Date of Seb. Bach's Birth & Decease
I cannot at this Moment give you correctly the Year of cither, but it will
perhaps be satisfactory News to inform you that W Hom, Sený (the quondam
Instructor of the royal Family) & myself are preparing for the Press the whole
Life of Seýastian together with an accurate List of all his Works which much
resemble Handel's for their Multitude & which (not much to the Honour of
England) have been as yet totally unknown here, even by their Titles. -
This
Life was written in German by Forkel, ' & has been translated by M'
Stephenson of Queen Square, a great Enthusiast in the Cause, &a most
excellent Judge of Musick. - If you however have any inunediate Occasion to
be infonned of the exact Dates in Question, I will apply to NY Horn, who,
163

upon referring to the Life will be able instantly to satisfy you concerning
them.
It is known that Bach & Handel were Contemporaries, & that the lattcr
outlived Bach, who had a high Respect for the Taleýts of Handel, & made
several Efforts to obtain a Conference with him, which -henever-
could
agmw-lish.
5
The Pains you have taken to sift & analyse every Note in tile Fugue
to which you are justly so partial, " convince me that you are fully determined
to appreciate his true Worth. -
As my own Value for him exceeds all Power
of Language the less said by me perhaps the better, but this I will venture to
affirm from my own Experience (which I find to be the safest Criterion of
Truth) that the more he is studied, understood, & heard, the more he
instructs, charms, & affects us. I find new Beauties every Time I take him up,
& am always tempted to declare when I shut the book that the last Page I have
perused is the most interesting.
Let me advise you as a Friend to bum your London Copyý without
Delay or Ceremony: it is a Libel upon the great Author it affects to announce,
& if an indifferent Judge of Musick were to be asked his Opinion of Bach
from such a nefarious Specimen, I think he would be fully warranted in saying
that "his Harmonies are full of grammatical Blunders, & he could not have
understood the Rules of Counterpoint. ["]
I understand that Wilkinsoný in the Haymarket is trying to insult the
Public with a similar Grub Street? Performance, but I shall write him down
publickly with a Pen dipped in Gall. -
If my Life & Health are spared, you
164

shall see not only the Preludes & Fugues but some other odd Matters of this
poor Gentleman who has remained so long incognito to our learned musical
Nation, which will not disgrace him.
The Zurich Edition, " from which I made my MS. copy is the only
one, on which any tolerable Dependence can be safely placed, & even in this
I have found not fewer than 30 or 40 Faults, such as the Omission or
Intrusion of a 6,0,
or 4, which you know in Works of chromatic &
sometimes enharmonic Modulation, produce very queer & crude Effects.
By the way, in the Edition above mentioned. a double 0 is
contradicted, not by a single one, but always by a4; this used to puzzle me
devilishly for a long Time till I was up to the Rig (to use an elegant Phrase)
for I played it the old orthodox white Key wherever it came, which you know
made the Harmony delightful, & well confirmed what had been said by People
who ought to have known better, that "Bach had no air", they might have
added "nor Harmony either" in those Circumstances.
Adieu, my dear Sir, forgive my Prolixity, & be assured that I am with
Esteem
Yours very truly
S Wesley
P. S. The reason why I think Bach wrote B4 in the 24'h ar, is because
before the 6hcrotchet in the same Bar, a0 is placed in the Zurich Edit. &
this had been superfluous had the same Note been sharpened in the first
Instance; besides, upon repeated Trials I think you will find that the 0B after
the h produces an agreeable Variety. "
165

N. D. Bach composed the 48 Preludes & Fugues expressly for the
Purpose of making Proficients on the Clavier in all the 24 Keys, & he calls
it (I believe) in German, the-compleatly well tempered Clavier, which you
know is alike applicable to Clavichord, Harpsichord, 'Piano Forte, or Organ
but there is no Question that it is only on the Organ their sublime & beautiful
Effects can be truly heard.
This letter is evidently in response to enquiries from Crotch concerning J. S. Bach,
no doubt in connection with his work on vol. 3 of his Specimens of Various Styles
of Music Referred to in a Course of Lectures read at Oxford & London, a spin-off
from his Royal Institution lectures. Vols. I and 2 been published earlier in 1808; vol.
3 was published around Apr. 1809. It included the E major Fugue from Book 11 of
the '48', discussed by SW in the postscript to this letter, as its sole example of J. S.
Bach's music. In his Preface, Crotch wrote: 'Sebastian Bach was contemporary with
Handel. His most celebrated productions are organ fugues, very difficult
of
execution; profoundly learned, and highly ingenious .... Ile
student should be
careful not to form a hasty judgment of his character as the riches of his learning are
not scattered superficially, but lie too deeply buried to be immediately perceived. In
the management of a strict fugue he stands unrivalled, and he seems to be the most
scientific of all composers. ' In a footnote which helps to establish the date of the
preface, Crotch remarked that 'the life and several works of this great composer will
shortly be published by Mr. Hom and Mr. Samuel Wesley; to the latter I am much
indebted for the use of his valuable and correct manuscript copy of the above work. '
2. i. e. Charles Frederick Horn, in distinction from his son Charles Edward Hom (1786-
1849).
3. Johann Nikolaus Forkel (1749-1818), German music historian, theorist, and
bibliographer. His 10ber Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben. Kunst und Kunstwerke
166

(Leipzig, 1802) was the first biography of J. S. Bach, and was a key work In the
rediscovery of Bach's music (Grove! .
4. SW's comment reveals that he did not at this time have a copy of Forkel's biography
in his possession. SW's copy, apparently acquircd later. is now In the Pcndlcbury
Library, Cambridge, and is annotated by him as being 'the gift of my very kind &
respected Friend, MI William Drummcr'.
5. This information was doubtless from Forkel. who described two unsuccessful
attempts that Bach made to visit Handel during Ilandcl's visits to lialle (New Jhch
Reader, 460-1).
6. No doubt the E major Fugue discussed above, which Crotch in his Substance-o
Several Courses of Uctures on Music. Reid in Oxford and the Nictrop2li (1831).
120, described as 'perhaps the best' of the fugues in the '48.
Not identified. Ille London re-issucs of continental editions of the '48' of which
copies have survivcd are those of Lavenu (of the NSgeli edition) and Brodcrip and
Wilkinson (of the Simrock edition). Crotch's 'London copy' cannot be either of
these, as both are discussed later in this letter. SWs reference to Wilkinson's
intention to bring out 'a similar Grub Street Performance' suggests that Crotch's copy
was a printed, rather than a manuscript, one: it may possibly have been an otherwise
unknown London re-issue of the 11offmcister edition (1801).
8. Of the firm of Wilkinson & Co., which had succeeded Broderip and Wilkinson
earlier in 1808, and had premises at 13 Haymarket.
9. According to Johnson's Dictiona ,
'originally the narne of a street near Moorrields
in London, much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary
poems, whence any mean production is called grubstreet'.
10. i. e. the NAgeli edition.
11. SW's postscript refers to the E major fugue from Book 11 of the '48', and is
doubtless in response to an enquiry from Crotch about a reading in his own copy.
SW is arguing for the correctness of the reading in his manuscript copy and the
167

Nageli edition on which it was based, both of which have aB% at the third crotchet
in the bass part of bar 24 followed by BO at the sixth crotchet in the tenor. 7be two
other early printed editions have aB0 in the bass at this point. The reading favourcd
by SW is adopted by Crotch in Specimens and Is also in the Wesicy-Hom edition.
Most modem editions, including the Ncue Bich Ausgabe, prefer the other reading.
168

To [Charles Burneyf [Cainden Town], 6 December 1808
ALS, 1 p. (private collection of Michael Bumcy-Cumming; address panel
Osbom, MSS 3, Box 5, foldcr 319ý
Pmk: 6 DEC 1808
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay:
My dear Friend
"The Time cries Haste & Speed must answer it*. ' I do not mean that
I need feel hurried in the Preparation of these Lectures, ' but yet I am so
averse from the Probability of being bard run, or of doing any Iling (that I
can do at alQ in a slovenly Way, I wish to pipe-all Hands without Delay, &
plunge con
Amore, in Medias Res.
Since I parted from you, I have thought that perhaps the following
Subjects for two of the Lectures might not be inappropriate; I mean On the
Power of musical Prejudice, & on the Power of Musick upon Morals. -I Pray
tell me whether you approve these as Theses.
But first tell me what you think will be the most taking Style of
introductory Lecture? ' My grand Ahn is to endeavour to dispel a few of the
Clouds of Partiality & Prejudice which certainly have too long overshadowed
ApgILO in this Country.
In a successful Attempt at this, your very sincere & grateful Friend
will avow, (& swear if it should be necessary) that he has not lived in vain.
Adieu my dear Sir, you know my Heart, I trust
169

sw
Dec' 6.1808
1. Burney is identified as the addressee of this letter by his daughter's characteristic
docketing.
2. The address panel also bears Burncy's undated draft reply. beginning 'those that
seldom go to a concert or Theatre'. The year of the postmark on the address panel
was misread by Hcmlow as 1802, and the date of CB's draft reply is accordingly
given by her as '[pgLg 6 Dec. 1802? 1' (Joyce Ilemlow, A-Citilogue of the Burney
Family Corresvondcrice. 1749-1878 (New York, 1971). 45).
3. Slightly misquoted from Othell , 1. iii. 276-7 ('th' affair crics; haste, and speed must
answer it'), and one of SW's favourite quotations.
4. As Burney had predicted, SW had been invited to lecture at the Royal Institution. I lis
course was originally planned to begin in Feb. 1809. but was postponed first to 3
Mar. and then to 10 Mar. This was to be SW's first experience of lecturing, and he
was understandably keen to ask Bumey's advice on how best to proceed. (Kassfer,
Tectures'; Royal Institution of Great Britain, Minutes).
5. The text of a later lecture on musical prejudice, delivered on 13 Jan. 1830. but
possibly incorporating some material dating back to SW's 1809 Royal Institution
course, is at BL, Add. MS 35014, f. 53. The text of SW's lecture on Music and
Morals has not been preserved.
6. The eventual tide of SW's first lecture was 'On Music as an Art and as a Science'
(see SW to Burney, 20 Dec. [18081). 71e text of a later lecture with a similar title.
dated 7 Jan. 1828, but possibly incorporating some material dating back to SW'3
1809 Royal Institution course, is at BL, Add. MS 35015, f. 175.
7. i. e. J. S. Bach.
170

To []Benjamin Jacob] Camden Town, 8 December 1808
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 13)
My dear Sir,
Previously to the Receipt of your last kind Letter, ' which I this Day
received, I had resolved to have nothing to do with that infamous Libellcr, the
Satyrist: 2 for any Person either of decent Character or tolerable Education to
contend with such a Wretch, would be about as wise as for a General to send
a fonnal Challenge to a Scavenger.
I was informed to Day that I am to expect a Summons from a Friend
to a grand Birth Day Anniversary Dinner on the 21" however as it has not yet
arrived, I shall consider myself previously engaged to you & M'. Bacon,
therefore I hereby commission you to convey my Respects to him, & if h
o'Clock should not be too late for him (as I cannot get loose from the Manor
HousO till Ih past 5) 1 will hope for the Pleasure of joining your Party.
I am glad to find that Sebastian is to be heard even "out of the mouths
of Babes & Sucklings": ' depend on it, there is nothing more necessary to
render his divine Strains the chief Delight & Solace of all truly harmonized
Souls, but an assiduous Cultivation of them. -6
Ile was certainly dropped down
among us from Heaven.
am concerned to find that your Friend 'c3'rywvtroAvoq' is not likely to
domesticate among us, but yet am rejoiced to rind there are Hopes of at least
a transient Visit. -
He certainly is a very superior man, & as such men are
171

scarce, I am indeed idolatrously covetous of such Society. I am
happy in
being able to declare that I feel myself supported by the Friendship (the best
human Prop) of a little Phalanx of such Characters as I do think- I may vcnturc
to say were "made only a little lower than die Ange1g, "I & what I most fear
is that the Kindness I experience in this World will render me too fond of it,
& make me mistake Earth for Heaven.
I am much flattered by the good Opinion which your venerable Friend
is pleased to entertain of me, although I have afforded him no practical Proof
of deserving it, unless in the exercise of my Fingers. -
I assure you that I have
not felt so much affected by any Harangue from the Pulpit for many years
past as I was on Sunday by the honest unstudied natural Discourse MI Hill,
gave us: I prefer such a Sermon to all the polished rhetorical Essays in the
world, which (most falsely) are called Preachin - moralising is the utmost
extent of the Term suitable to such cold, dry, lifeless Compositions, &I had
rather hear two Pages of John Bunyan's Pilgrim" than Folios of such
uninteresting Trash.
N. B. I had rather be your joint Organist than your Successor, altho'
I am very grateful to M" Hill for his thinking me worthy the latter Post: I trust
that (if it be best for us) we may live some Years yet to be mutually
serviceable to the Cause of Music, of Friendship, & of Truth; which I am old
fashioned enough to think ought never to be separated, & in the love of the
Truth believe me
My dear Sir
Yours faidifully
172

S. W.
M" W. unites with us all in kindest Regards.
Camden Town I Thursday 8 Dec' 1808.
1. Not preservcd.
2. The Satirist. or Monthly-Meteo ,a monthly pcriodical publisbcd
bctween Oct. 1807
and June 1814, edited first by George Manners and later by William Jcrdan. It had
attacked the Surrey Institution in Sept. 1808 (pp. 136-9), but the immediate cause of
SW's remark was no doubt the heavy-handed 'llints to Lecturers' In the Dec. number
(pp. 508-13), which Jacob may have drawn to SW's attention in his letter (Sullivan,
TRA, 383-6; Ile Satirist, 3 (1808). 136-9,508-13).
3. Doubtless for a sitting for his portrait.
4. The Manor House at Paddington Green, where the school at which SW taught was
located: see SW to Bridgetower, 23 Feb. 1797, n. 4. Tle meeting was presumably
at Bacon's nearby house or premises (see SW to Bacon, 28 Dec. 118081, n. 2), as
there would have been insufficient time for SW to travel from Paddington to
Blackfriars.
5. Ps. 8: 2.
6. These two sentences are quoted by Jacob in his letter to Bacon of 12 Dec. (see SW
to Jacob, [? 17 Nov. 1808]. n. 11).
7. 'Struggler': the nom-de-plume of a prominent convert of Rowland Hill, not now
identifiable. The story of his conversion was evidently well known at the time. For
a letter from him to Hill, see Edward Sidney, The Life of-the Rev Rowland Hill.
A. M. (London, 1833), 217.
8. Ps. 8: 5.
9. The Revd Rowland Hill (1744-1833), evangelistic preacher and minister of Surrey
Chapel. The sixth son of Sir Rowland Hill. first Baronet, he was educated at
173

Shrewsbury and Eton, and cntercd St John's College. Cambridge In 1764. graduating
BA in 1769. Ile began his preaching career while at Cambridge; after graduation he
sought ordination, but was repeatedly refused on account of his Irregular and
controversial preaching. tic was eventually ordained in 1773 and was subscqucntly
appointed to the curacy of Kingston. Somcrsct. I le remained a controversial figure,
and on leaving Somerset was refused a licence by the Bishop of Carlisle. Ile
continued to preach 'wherever he could find an audience. in churches, chapels,
tabernacles, and the open air. often immense congregations, and sometimes amid
great interruption and violence' (DNB .
Ile and his brother Sit Richard II ill, Bt, built
Surrey Chapel in 1782 and he became its minister. where his 'camest, eloquent,
eccentric preaching' attracted large congregations. Ile was also active in the Religious
Tract Society, the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the London Missionary
Society, and was an enthusiastic advocate of vaccination. carrying out thousands of
vaccinations in person (DNB; Edward Sidney. ne Life of the Rev Rowland Hill.
A. M. (London, 1833). For Surrey Chapel, see SW to Jacob. 4 Sept. 1809, n. 13).
10. The Pilarim's Progress (1678-84) by John Bunyan (1628-88).
174

To [Charles Burney]' Camden Town, 20 December 1180812
ALS, 2 pp. (Osborn, MSS 3. Box 16. Folder 1193)
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay:
Editor's note: Burney's draft reply, dated 28 December 1808, is on the same
sheet.
My dear Friend
I am eternally pestering you, but you bear my Baiting so patiently, that
like the generous Majority of the World, I avail myself of your Non-
Resistance, & resolve to put your Philosophy to the extreme Test.
Two more Questions previous to breaking the Ice (which by the Way
is no easy Thing to do at present) &I will promise to be quiet until I come
to rehearse my first Lecture to you at the College.
Although I have been used to play in Public from a Child, & therefore
never feel embarrassed if my Tools are good, yet to Hjgik, in Public is another
Affair, & of Course Want of early Habit must naturally create a Diffidence
& Uncertainty of Success. Quaere therefore, whether it would not be
advisable for me to hatch a little prefatory Apology, previous to the absolute
Business of the Lecture, in Order to deprecate that Sort of Censure which
might be excited by any Failure in the Manner of Delivery?
The second Point is, whether you think that there seems any real
Necessity of adducing practical Examples in the first Discourse, the Subject
of which (by your Approbation) will be on Music considercd as an Art & as
175

a Science. - This being so broad a Question, & where general Observations
only appear to me requisite, that I see not well a fair Opportunity of any
manual Operations, without using some Force towards the Argument,
Purport of the Disquisition. 3
Favour me with your early Thoughts on these Topicks my
dear Friend
sw
Camden Town 20 Dec!
1. Burney's identity as the recipient of this letter is given by his draft reply on the s=e
sheet (see n. 2).
2. SWs request for advice on how to proceed with his forthcoming course of lectures
at the Royal Institution of Great Britain establishes the year as 1808. Burney's draft
reply, dated 20 Dec. with '1808' added in another hand, is on the same sheet; his
references to the recent death of his eldest son Richard Thomas and the serious
illness of his daughter Esther confirm this dating.
3. Burney replied: 'With respect to your two quaies, pauca verba will suffice. I
approve entirely a prefatory apology and deprecation of severity to a lecturer
unpracticed in public speaking with anything but his Fingers. And I am as clearly of
opinion that you shd keep back your performance till it is necessary to illustrate some
remarkably pleasing style of composition WIII you have been describing. '
176

To Charles Wesley Junior
Cainden Town, jante 23 December 1808f
ALS, I p. (BL, Add. MS 35012, f. 119)
Dear Charles,
Perhaps you or some of your friends will like to hear my Tc Deum,
Jubilate, and Litany, at St. Paul's, next Sunday, Christmas Day. 2 I'lley always
keep this service of mine for high days and holidays; therefore there is hardly
any other opportunity of hearing it but upon the four great festivals? The
prayers begin at a quarter before ten in the morning.
I am sorry you cannot come to Mr. Smith'e on Saturday next, more
particularly because I shall have no other day for this month to come vacant.
The people at Bath are besieging me perpetually to come down without delay,
and Dr. Harrington, Rauzzini, and the rest of the musickers, are already
making great preparations. ' My fingers are so cold I can scarcely hold my
pen.
Yours truly
Sw
Love to my mother
1. The year is given by Christmas Day falling on a Sunday and by SW's reference to
his settings of the Te Deurn, Jubilate, and Litany (see n. 2).
2. For SWs setting of the Litany, composed in 1806, see SW to Charles Wesley jun.,
15 Jan. 1807. n. 4. The autograph of the Te Deum and Jubilate (BL, Add. MS
14342) are dated 1808.
177

3. i. e. Christmas Day, Easter Day, Ascension My. and Whitsunday.
4. Not certainly identified.
5. SW visited Bath in Jan. 1809, rcturning on 27 Feb.
178

To John Bacon Randalls, near Leatherhead, l 28 December [18081
ALS, I p. (Emory, Box 6)
Addressed: To I Bacon F-sqle I Paddington GrccrO I -- near I Ile Church
Pmk: DE 29 1808
Randalls
Near Leathcrhead
Dccll 28'
Dear Sir
You must forgive my Non-Attendance To-morrow, by Reason of an
Embargo laid upon me by one Richard Brinsley Sheridan, 3 of whom you may
possibly of heard, & who detains me here vi et annis" a close Prisoner in his
strongly
fortified Castle. - I have already projected a Plan for breaking Gaol
but whether it will not prove abortive in the Execution To-morrow must
decide. - The Instant I shall have been so fortumte as to arrive once more at
the great City, I will give you immediate Intelligence, mean while believe me
Dear Sir
Yours very truly
S Wesley
1. The house of Richard Brinsley Sheridan (see n. 3).
2. This was probably the address of Bacon's studio and workshop. Jacob's letter to
179

Bacon, 12 Dec. 1808 was addressed to Newman Street, which according to the
Memoir of John Bicon in the Jan. 1815 number of EM was the house In which he
was born, and in which he was at that time living.
3.7be
playwright and MP Richard Brinsicy Shcridan (1751-1816), proprictor and
manager of Drury Lane theatre. This is the only reference to him In the
correspondence and it is not known how SW came to be staying with him. SW may
have known him through his connections with William
Linley, the brother of
Sheridan's first wife Elizabeth (DNB; Fintan O'Toole. A Traitor's Kiss: The Life of
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (London, 1997); Linda Kelly, Richard 1311insicy Shcridan,
A Life (London, 1997).
4. 'By force of anns'.
180

To John Bacon Caniden Town, 1 January 1809
AN, third person,
lp. (Emory, Box 6)
Addressed: To I --
Bacon Esq' I Paddington Green, I near I The Church
Pmk: 2 JA 1809
MI S. Wesley presents his Respects to MI Bacon, proposing to have the
Pleasure of attending him next Tuesday' as near -Qne
o'Clock as lie possibly
can.
Camden Town I Sunday JaiV 1.1809
1.3 Jan.
181

To William Savage'
Canitlen Town, 28 February [1809JI
AL, third person, 1 p. (Royal Institution of Great Britain)
Arlington Strcct
Camden Town Feb 281
MI Samuel Wesley begs Leave to inform MI Savage that he arrived in Town
last Night, from Bath, where he was unavoidably detained some Weeks longer
than he at first expected to be. '- He is at present considerably indisposed with
a bad Cold, attended with swelled Glands of the Throat, which have rendered
him very hoarse, & unable to speak out without much Inconvenience.
- On
this Account he would wish Permission to fix Wednesday nexO for reading the
Lecture, by which Time he hopes entirely to have recovered, and also would
be glad to know whether any personal Attendance upon any one of the
Managers is customary or expected previous to the Commencement of the
Series.
M1 S. may be assured that Nothing short of Illness should have
occasioned this Procrastination, & requests him to conununicate this
Observation to the Managers.
1. William Savage (1770-1843), printer and cngravcr, was bom in Howden in the East
Riding of Yorkshire. and had in 1790 set up in business as a printer and bookseller
in partnership with his brother James. In 1797 he moved to London, and around
1799 was appointed printer to the newly founded Royal Institution of Great Britain,
182

where he also became assistant secretary to the board of managers, sccrctary to the
library committee, secretary to the chemistry committee, and superintendent of the
printing office. lie was also in business on his own account from around 1803, and
in 1807 printed Former's British Gallery of Engravings, the high quality of which
established his fame. His Dictionary-of the Art of Printin appeared in 1840-1
(PNB).
2. The year is given by SW's references to his rcccnt visit to Bath and to his
forthcoming course of lectures at the Royal Institution.
3. SW had been enthusiastically received and much in demand In Bath. In a letter to
Sarah of 28 Jan. (Wesley College, Bristol), he wmte: 'I continue here in very good
Health and Condition, and the Doubt only is when I shall be suffered to come away,
for really the Bath People are most extremely kind & polite ....
I have very hard
work to fight off the Invitations by which I am beset from Morning till Night'.
4.8 Mar., instead of Friday 3 Mar. as originally planned. For reasons given in the next
letter, SW eventually gave the lecture on 10 Mar.
183

To Benjamin Jacob Cainden Town, 2 March 1809
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 15)
Addressed: To I M' Jacobs. I Charlotte Street I Black Friar's Road
Pmk: 2 MR 1809
Camdcn Town.
March 2.1809.
My dear Sir,
Here I am once more, and shall rejoice in the first Opportunity
afforded me of an Interview after so long an Interval of Separation. You will
I know give me full Credit for not having intentionally neglected writing to
you: believe me I have been a greater Slave during the Holidays than I am
when in the Mill-Horse Road of ABC Drudgery: ' hurried & dragged about
from Pillar to Post, and at Times when I most wanted & needed Retirement
& Quiet for preparing my first Lecture, which although not designed for a
profound or very luminous Composition (which I assure you boni Fid ,
that
it will not be) yet some previous Meditation was needful, were it only to make
a String of Trifles of the same Tissue; for nothing you know can be less
tolerable than the mere outward & visible Sign of a Discourse without any of
the inward & spiritual Grace that ought to attend it.
As Matters have turned out I am all in good Time: My first Lecture,
such as it is, has been in Readiness for some Days, &I think I have no very
184

contemptible Skeletons prepared for a second & third, which will make up
half the course: I also think that I have at least a good Subicc for a 41 if not
a 5h, & if the miracles of Sebastian will not furnish me Ammunition for a Gh'
I think I must have rather changed my Faidi in him. -
By the Way, I have had
the Loan of many Exercise of his, for the Harpsichord, which are every whit.
as stupendous as the Preludes & Fugues, & demonstrate him (what cvcry frcsh
Scrap of his I meet does) the very Quintessence of all musical Exccllcncc. It's
droll enough that amongst these is inserted a beautiful Air, 3 which is published
along with a Sett of Emanuel Bach's Lessons. " & which I saw at Bath: I am
very much inclined to think that this Son, like many others, made but little
Scruple of robbing his Father; and that he was not concerned for his Honor
seems plain enough by the vile & most diabolical Copy that lie gave Doctor
Burney as a Present, 4 & from which the latter was wise enough to judge of &
damn his works (as he thought): but the Phoenix must always revive.
I assure you I have long wished to be again among my London
Friends, and am not a little revived by feeling myself in the old Saddle again,
hard as I must travel; -
for new Friends, however kind & sincere they may
eventually prove, have not the mellow effect upon the Mind (if I may so say)
as older ones, & it takes some Time to study Peoples' Habits & Inclinations
before we can be in that perfectly pleasant Familiarity in their Conversation
which to me is the most
delicious Point in Society. - I trust that my good
Friend & generous Hostess, whose name I need not mention, is in good
Health; whom I assure you I mean to visit before long, whether you are in the
Way or not, so now you have legal Notice, & may take your Measures
185

accordingly.
As my Lecture is not to be read before next Friday weck6 (by the
Request of some of the Governors who cannot attend on the Wednesday
before, as I had appointed, & who do me the Ilonorto wish to bc prcscnt) I
shall be able, by Hook or by Crook to see you, & have a Pennyworth of Chat
upon the Fun, some Day or other between now & then. -
I ain given to
imagine that the Sguad (you know whom I mean) had rather that their old
Friend the Devil were Lecturer than I. -
Yours ever truly
S. Wesley.
Remember me to Rowley & all the young Powlies. 7
1. This phrase is very reminiscent of Burney: cf. Lonsdale, 296, citing Burney to
Twining, 3 Nov. 1786: 'the constant drudgery of a musical ABCdarian'.
2. From SW's subsequent remarks (see n. 3), evidently Bach, s ClavicrObung I (the six
Partitas, BWV M-30), published by Hoffincister in 1801.2 as Exercises-r2ur Ic
clavecin.
3. Either the Aria in Partita IV, BWV 828, or in Partita V1. BW`V 830. Neither has
been found in published editions of C. P. E. Bach's music.
4. Prcsumably his Six Progressive Ussons for the Ilamsichord or piano fortc-in
different keys (London, g. 1740), an English edition of the 18 ProbestOcke In 6
Sonaten, (Wq. 63; H. 70-75).
5. See SW to Jacob, 17 Sept. 1808.
6.10 Mar.
7. Presumably a reference to Jacob's children (one of whom may have been called
Rowland, after Rowland Hill) and to the refrain of the popular song 'A frog he
186

would a-wooing go'. At his concert at Binninghmn later In the year SW played a
'fantazia' concluding with this song: see SW to Jacob, 25 Scpt. 1809.
187

To Benjamin Jacob Camden Town, 3 March 1809
ALS, 3 pp.
(RCM, MS 2130, f. 17)
Addressed: To I MI Jacobs. I Charlotte Strcet I BIa6k Friars Road
Pmk: 4 MR 1809
Camdcn Town.
March 3.1809
My dear Sir
I have just received your very prompt Answer to mine, I& rcgrct much
that I am unable to be with you either To-Morrow2 or Sunday, 3 but I think
that if Wednesday nexe would suit, I could manage to get to you by 5
o'Clock, tho' I fear not sooner. I wish as speedy a Line as you can give me
on the Subject.
To your Query respecting Sebastian, I at once reply in the Affirmative:
his Works would fumish Materials for 600 as easily as for 6 Lectures, & were
all or half which he has written to be critically analyzed & duly animadvcrted
upon, I doubt much whether the longest Life would not prove too short for the
Task. -
But we must for the present confine & repress our Inclination to
publish too hastily our Creed in the transcendant Merits of this marvellous
Man: it will all go on well by slow Degrees, and the Instance you givc of
Stevens's beginning to revoke his Blasphemies, may be considered as a very
188

strong & extraordinary Proof of it. -
I am glad you like Linley: he is a great Favourite of mine, & indccd
I should be peculiarly ungrateful were I not attachcd to him, as I have cvcry
reason to think his Regard very sincere- Ile is a man of much musical Talent,
as I dare say you soon discovered.
I have not forgotten having left your Book of Bach's Luthcran I Iym&
at John Cramer's House: I will get them back at the first Opportunity: I was
reminded particularly of the Circumstance two Days ago, when I found a Trio
or two among the Exercises which I immediately rcmembercd having played
with you from your own Book.
I am about to put the I" Trio of the Six lent me by Ilorn, " into the
Engraver's hands almost immediately- the best Way will be unquestionably
to print them singly.
Remember me very cordially to 14" J. and all the young Fry- all here
join in kind Respects with
Dear Sir
Yours ever sincerely
S Wesley
1. Not preserved.
2.4 Mar.
3.5 Mar.
4.8 Mar.
5. Presumably Joh. Seb. Bachs vierstimmige Choralgesange ed. J. P. Kirnbcrger and
189

C. P. E. Bach, 4 vols. (Leipzig, 1784-7).
6. The Trio in E flat, BWV 525, the first of the six organ Trio Sonatas, BWV 525-30.
The edition by SW and Hom appeared as single numbers at intervals in 1809; In his
Reminiscences SW stated that it was prepared from a manuscript copy supplied by
ROM.
190

To [William Savage]'
Cainden Town, 16 March [18091'
ALS, 1 p. (Royal Institution of Great Britain)
Dear Sir
Having heard nothing from you to the contrary, I conclude that the Day on
which I appointed to read, which was, next WednesLay, ' is agreed to, & will
hold myself in readiness accordingly. -
The Subject of the Lecture will
principally relate to the Improvement of the Chromatic Scale. evinced in the
Construction &-Effects of the Patent Organ. designed by Will' flawkes Esq"
and built by Mr Elliot. 4
Perhaps this will serve as a sufficient Syllabus
I remain
Dear Sir
Yours truly
S. Wesley
Thursday 16 March
1. The preservation of this letter in the correspondence files of the Royal Institution
leaves no doubt that it was written to someone there. In the light of SWs letter to
him of 28 Feb., William Savage is the most probable recipient.
16 Mar. falling on a Wednesday and SW's reference to his forthcoming lecture
establish the year of this letter.
3.22 Mar.
191

4. This lecture caused considerable controversy. SW uscd it to dcmonstratc the I lawkes-
Elliot patent organ, which sought to overcome the problems of intonation encountered
on conventionally tuned instruments In some keys by the provision of additional
pitches controlled by a pedal. SW's action In promoting a commercial product and
his alleged disingenuousness in omitting to point out some of the new system's
imperfections were the subject of repeated attacks in NNINIR from May 1809 on. The
text of a later and considerably revised version of this lecture Is at DL, Add. NIS
35014, ff. 2-16. For a more extended discussion of the controversy, see Philip
Olleson, 'The Organ-builder and the Organist: 71ornas Elliot and Samuel Wesley',
JBIOS, 20 (1996), 116-25.
192

To George Polgrecii Bridgetower Caindcn Town, 25 March [180911
ALS, 2 pp. (Emory, Box 6)
Addressed: To I M' Bridgetower I Jolm Street 1 3. '1 Pall hiall I Saturday
Aftemoon
Pmk: 27 MR 1809
Camdcn Town
251 of March
Dear Sir
I need not multiply Words (I trust) to assure you that I am much
disappointed by the Necessity of deferring the Pleasure of your Visit on
Monday next: ' when I made the Engagement, it did not occur to my
Remembrance that I am obliged to dine with the Somerset House Lodge on
Account of adding my Vote to the Ballot for a most deserving Acquisition to
the Society. If Friday - next, ' commonly called Good Friday be a Day on
which you have no Scruples concerning the Lawfulness of a Major or Minor
Key, I shall be quite chez moi & most happy to receive you at 4 o'Clock to
fast with me. - You know that an Englishman's Religion in Unt consists in
eating salt Fish instead of fresh, and I find no particular Mortification in
conforming to this pious Custom upon solemn Occasions.
Yours ever truly
S Wesley
193

The year is given by the postmark.
2.27 Mar.
31 Mar.
194

To George Polgreen Bridgetower Camden Town, 14 April [180911
AL, third person, I p. (Rylands, DDWF 15114)
Addressed: M' Bridgetower I John Street I Pall Mall
Pmk: AP 15 1809
S Wesley is compelled to inform MI Bridgetowcr that Nil Novc1lo2 has put off
the Party at the Portuguese Chapel3 for to morrow, all tile Priests being
engaged in absolving their Penitents from the Crime of slandering the Duke
of
York's Reputation. "
Friday 141 April I Camden Town
1. Ile year is given by the postmark.
2. Vincent Novello (1781-1861). organist, choinnastcr. composer, and publisher, later
to become SW's closest professional associate, and the recipient of over 170 Icttcrs
from him between May 1811 and Dec. 1825. As a boy he had been a chorister at the
Sardinian Embassy chapel, where he also received lessons from Samuel NVebbe I. Ile
was appointed organist of the Portuguese Embassy chapel at the age of sixteen in
1797 or 1798, and SW had probably known him from this time, if not earlier.
3. The chapel of the Portuguese Embassy. in South Street, off South Audley Street,
Mayfair, where Novello was organist. It was a leading centre for Roman Catholic
worship, with a long and distinguished musical tradition. The nature of the 'party'
has not been discovered; it was perhaps a recital, conceivably the Tortugucze fun'
mentioned in SW to Jacob, [? 26 Apr. 1809].
Frederick Augustus. Duke of York (1763-1827), the second son of George III and
Queen Charlotte and younger brother to the future George IV. had formed an ill-
195

advised liaison with Mary Anne Clarke. described by PM
as 'a handsome
adventuress'. She exploited her relationship with the Duke. who was Commandcr-In-
Chief of the Army. by 'promising promotion to officers, who paid her for her
recommendations'. The matter was raised In the Commons on 27 Jan. 1809 and
referred to a select committee. Ibc Duke of York resigned his position as
Cormmandcr-in-Chief on 28 Mar. 1809, and the allegations of corrupt practices were
in time droppcd Me Times .
196

To Ccorge Smith Caniden Town, 23 April 1180911
ALS, 2 pp. (BL, Add. MS 31764, f. 20)
Addressed:: To I George Smith Esql* I r-cvcrsham I'Kcnt I 241h of April
Camdcn Town
April 231
Sir,
I feel it my Duty to apprize you of a very extraordinary Derangement
that has taken Place at
Oxford House Marylebone.
-
Ibc Mesdames Barrics,
after my Services at their School for 25 Years, have at length thought proper
to engage another Master, 2 under the Pretence of my allowing the Pupils too
small a Portion of Time for each Lesson, to advance thcm in a musical
Progress.
It is rather an extraordinary Circumstance that no such Remonstrance
has ever been made at four other Schools, 3 two of which I now continue to
attend, and the other two I quitted, one because the Number was not of
sufficient Consideration to render it worth the Trouble, and the other on
Account of the Governess's quitting the Concern & retiring altogether from
Business. -
I received some Weeks ago, an exceedingly flippant & ungenteel Letter
from M" B. in which she observed that "IW Smith would be extremely angry,
when he should know that his Daughter had been so much neglected by me. "-
197

this neglect (as she falsely termed it) was merely my Continuancc at Bath, for
a Fortnight longer than I had originally designed to do. during which Time
M" B. had not the slightest Pretext of Reason to complain, since Nil Cooke. '
a most able Master & excellent Musician constantly attended the School in my
Absence: but I did not commission him to instruct Miss Smith, as I did not
consider myself in Honour authorized to depute a privatc Mastas in that
Instance without having previously consultcd your Inclination upon the
Subject: but I fully resolved at my Returri to supply all the Dcriciency which
might possibly have been the Consequence of my Dctaindcr, & have done this
fully, by giving Miss Smith an Hour's Lesson in sevcral. Instanccs, as will
appear when the List of her Lessons shall be transmitted. -
Indeed I have
always felt so warmly interested for her Improvement that I am conscious of
having at all Times exerted every Effort which I conceived could be
efficacious to promote it; and the immediate Occasion of my troubling you
with this Letter is to enquire whether it is your Wish that she should continue
my Pupil, or whether she is to be turned over to whatever Master whom the
Governesses (who know not a Note of music) shall t1fink- proper in their
weighty Judgemen to appoint in my Stead.
-
I have the Pleasure to acquaint you that your Daughter is at every
Lesson gaining much ground, especially in relding Music she has not seen
before: & this Facility gives very cordial Delight & Satisfaction to
Sir,
Your obliged & obedient Servant
S Wesley
198

SW's rckrences to his reccnt absence In Bath and his dismissal from the Dimes's
school establish the year of this letter.
2. SW's replacement was William Horsley (1774-1858). SW had In fact been dismisscd
over a month earlier: Horsley's diary entry for 21 Mar. had noted: 'Wesley finally
rejected by Mrs Dames. School offered to me at hi idsummcr'(Ox ford. Bodiclan
Library. Ilorsley Papers (NIS Eng e. 2134)).
3. The two schools at which SW was teaching at this time wcrc at Turnharn Green and
Paddington; the identity of the other two is not known.
4. Probably Matthew Cooke (1760/1-1829), organist of St Gcorge's, Bloomsbury. and
former teacher of Jacob.
5. Cooke had evidently been teaching SW's 'school' pupils in his abscnce, but not his
4private' pupils. For the distinction between the two, sce SW to Smith. 14 Aug.
1808, n. 5.
199

To [Benjamin Jacob]' Camden Town, 126 April 1809? ]'
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 19)
My dear Sir
am a great Fool- I forgot whether I desircd you to bring with you
To-morrow my two Books of Bach. 3_ Whedicr I did or not, Ict mc now
request you to bear it in mind. - I do 1191 forgct that your Choral Vorspicle!
is (or ought to be) in Cramcr's Possession; but rather than you should be
bilked out of it, you should have my Copyý to all Pcrpctuity. if there were
never another in the varsel World. -
I hope & expect an happy Day To-morrow; but "who knowctli what
a day may bring fbrth"? ý- How every Hour proves that "in the Midst of Life
we are in Death"! "- but it is well we are assured of whom we may seek for
Succour.
Sermonizing' having become now a Part of my Profession, I will make
no Apology for what some of the fine Bloods & Bucks would call Canting:
but you &I know better Ilings: -
I have much to say to you, but I fear that
there will be but little Time to-Morrow to talk, save and except widi our
Fingers. -
I will bring To-morrow the Vorspicle, if it be only to electrify my
Brother with
p- EA44 -
200

The Portugueze Fun" is not scttlcd yct: wc will givc all the stiff
Ilandelians & Wolfians" a Dcadi Wound to their Prcjudicc & tlicir Inipudcncc
or there is no Truth in
sw
Although lacking an address portion. It is clear from the content and present location
of this lettcr that it is to Jacob.
2. ibis date is added in pcncil on the manuscript in anothcr hand and Is rcpcatcd In
Eliza Wesley's published edition. It is possible that It was taken from a postmark or
a date on an address panel which is no longer extant.
Not identified.
4. J. S. Bachs Choral Vorspiele für die Orgel mit einem und zwey Klavicrrnlund Pedal,
4 vols. (Breitkopf, 1806).
5. SWls copy of vols. I and 2 of the Choral Vormicl ,
Inscribcd as having bccn given
to him by Joseph Gwilt in 1809, is now at the RCNI.
6. cf. Prov. 27: 1: 'Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth'.
7. BCP, Burial Service.
8. i. e. lecturing.
9. The opening of Bach's chorale prelude Vir g1luben all an eincn Gott', BNVV 680,
contained in vol. I of the Choral Vorsriel .
SW's quotation of the opening is
incorrect: the first two notes ought to be joined with a tie. The passage Is correctly
given in the Choral Vospicle.
10. Not identified: perhaps a projected recital at the chapel, and possibly the 'party'
discussed in SW to Bridgetower, 14 Apr. 11809].
11. Possibly the supporters of the German music teacher and composer Georg Friedrich
Wolf (1761-1814); but the point of the reference is not clear.
201

To [George Smith]' Caniden Town, 26 April 1180912
ANS, 1 p. (Emory, Box 8)
Sir
Frankness on one Side demands it on the oflicr: and as you arc of
Opinion that your Daughter is more likely to improve with hil Cramer than
with myself, I recommend to you the immediate Engagement of him, and shall
directly apprize him of your Intention; remaining.
Sir,
Your very obedient Servant
S Wesley
Camden Town. I Wednesday 26 April.
1. The content of this letter establishes Smith as the recipient.
2. The year is given by 26 Apr. falling on a Wednesday and SW's Camden Town
address.
202

To George Sinith Camden Town, 9 May [180911
ALS, 3 pp. (BL, Add. MS 31764, f. 22)
Addressed: To I George Smith E-sql* I Fcvcrsham I Kent I May 91h
Camdcn Town
Tucsday May 91h
Sir
As I am not conscious of having "acted any Part" either towards
yourself or MI Barnes that can justly be considered as incorrcct, I am not
only willing, but desirous to enter into the most unequivocal Explanation of
my Conduct relative to the Misunderstanding at Oxford Ilouse.
During my Stay in the NVesO I engaged a professional Man of real
Worth & Talents (who is now my Assistant at another School) to attend the
Pupils regularly until my Return, &I regret that I did not apply to you for
Information whether it would have been agreeable to you that Miss Smith
should also take her separate Lessons of him; if I had, it is probable that as
you appeared at that Time to have a thorough Confidence in my Judgement
& Opinion, you would have acceded to the Proposal, & in that Case, all these
unpleasant Consequences would have been evited. - It is a most unaccountable
Affair to me, that M" Bames, who upon my Arrival in Town, expressed the
highest Approbation of M' Cooke's Attention & Punctuality, & who, it was
to be expected, would have rather felt an Increase than a Diminution of
203

favourable Sentiments towards the Person who rccomnicnded him, should
have suddenly, & without any Kind of reasonable Pretext that I can assign,
inform[ed] me that it was their Intention to engage another Mastcr after the
Midsummer Holidays; ' and whether this was a becoming Behaviour towards
one who had been their constant Servant for nearly 30 Ycars, " I leave to all
dispassionate & unprejudiced Persons to judge.
With Regard to the individual Case of your Daughter, it appears to me,
that if you were as well satisfied with her Progress now (which has been
certainly a very rapid one) as you formerly seemed to be, I cannot guess why
you should have wished to remove her into other Hands: you certainly have
an unquestionable Right to engage as many Masters as may suit your
Inclination, & to change them as often: but after having so strongly expressed
your complete Approbation of my Instructions, & seemed so fully to rely upon
my Advice relative to the Choice of her Music, & Manner of Study &c I own
I could not but consider your subsequent Intention as inconsistent with that
Reliance on my Candour which you formerly professed.
I have no Inclination to disguise to You that I have always fclt
considerable Zeal to render your Daughter an excellent Player, & have used
my utmost Efforts towards the Accomplishment of it. -
This being the Truth,
I did always suppose it your Intention that I should have the full Credit due
to my Exertions in her Favour, & that she should be considered exclusivel
Pupil. --
The Friendship which subsists between me and MI Cramer will
at all Thnes prevent the Possibility of his suspecting me of an Atom of
Jealousy as to the Eminence of his Abilities, and I do not retract a Word of
'MA
%rT

my Opinion given you that I consider him as 'the Prince of Piano-r-orte
Players, ' or I
add the Emr! cro ,
for the Word Princc
deservedly fallen into some Disrcpute. s- At the same Time. I know (& lie
knows) that I understand the Principle of Piano Form playing as well as
himself, & after having taught it for 30 Years, with the compicat Knowlcdge
of a very superior Instrument, it would reflect Disgrace on me if I did not. -
I have only to add, that if you should choose NI iss Smith to go on 3yU
me, I would make no Objection whatever to attend bSr. whateva Masta W
Barnes may employ to instruct the other Pupils: the Favour of an early
Answer on this Question will oblige,
Sir
Yours very obediently
S Wesley
1. The year is given by 9 May falling on a Tuesday and SW's Camden Town address.
2. i. e. at Bath.
3. Horsley noted in his diary that he started teaching at Oxford House on 10 Aug.
4. In his letter to Smith of 24 Apr.. SW had stated that he had taught at the Barries's
school for twenty-five years.
A reference to George, Prince of Wales, who in 1810 became Prince Regent and in
1820 George IV, and whose conduct was a byword for dcpravity.
205

To William Crotch [Catntlen Towill, 15 May [180911
ALS, 1 p. (RCM, MS 3073)
Addressed: To I D' Crotch I Dutchess; Street I Portlind Place I N. 2
Dear Sir
I am much obliged by your Attention concerning Bach. -nic
Choral
Vorspiele I had obtained some Months ago, & am truly glad to rind that you
have gotten hold of it, as I am sure it must afford you grcat Dclight. If you
have not had Time as yet to examine it throughout, I particularly recommcnd
to your Notice the Numbers 8 (page 18). 10 (26) 15 (p. 5 21 Book) 18.19.
20.
You are (I presume) aware that the Gennan Titles to the several
Pieces, are the first Words of certain Lutheran Hymns to which Sebastian
added all that florid Counterpoint in Fugue & Canon which you meet with, &
which I need not tell you produces on the Organ the most magnificcrit Effect. -
I am again unlucky, for I fear I cannot have returned from Turnham
Greený To-Morrow in Time for your Iecture, 4mais ic femi mon IDossible. 3
Adieu & believe me,
most truly Yours
S Wesley
Monday Morning 1 15' of May
206

1. Ile year is given by 15 May falling on a Monday and Crotch's addmss.
2. 'Allein Gott in dcr 110h sel Ehr', BWV 676; Vir giSubcn all' an eincn Gott'. B%VV
680; 'Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten', BWV 691; 'Ucbster Jcsu, wir sind
hier', BWV 706,633, and 634; 'Allein Gott In der IM sei Ehrl, BWV 711; and
, Allein Gott in der UM sei Ehr', WV 664.
3. A hamlet in the north of the parish of Chiswick. west of London, where one of SW's
schools was situated.
4.16 May: one of a course of lectures on 'The Rise and Improvemcnt of Scientific
Music' that Crotch was currcntly giving on Tuesday and Friday afternoons at the
Hanover Square Roo= (GN,
J, 18091,252; ne Times. 30 Mar., 8 Apr. 1809).
5.11 will do what I can'.
207

To [Benjamin Jacob]' lCainden Town], [C. 15 May 180912
AL, 4 pp. (Edinburgh) Damagcd.
Editor's note: This letter consists of a single sheet, folded In half so as to
form four pages. The bottom of the sheet has been irregularly torn away so
that the last few lines of each page are lacking in tlicir cntirctY and parts of
four lines immediately above the tear are also missing. Ile missing text has
been conjecturally restored where possible.
Dear Sir
I am told (how truly I cannot answer) that my Antagonist & your
Correspondene is M" Purkis the blind Organist: 4 if this be so, your having
called him as blind as a Bat will be a little unlucky; & as being capablc of a
personal Construction, which however he deserves for righting in the-Dark:
had he given us his real Name, we might have managed the Contest in a more
secure Manner. - As it is, Facts confute him, & these arc the most powerful
of all Weapons. - I should be glad to be thoroughly certain that Purkis is the
Man: I know however that lately, when he was told that I defended the new
Tempera said "Does he? -I
w hear him, I
w< ould wager a pound> or two that <
[p. 2] You rind that my Lectum' hangs an A--c, " as the gcntccl
saying is. - They pretend that they did not get my Heads of it soon enough for
the Cards to be distributed. -
It happens well, for all the Fools of Fashion,
which you know constitute a large Majority of my Audience, are all running
208

helter-skelter, pell-mell to the Epsom Races, ' & leaving the Lccturc Room as
empty as their own Heads. Only two Lectures arc < ...
> this Wcck, the
one by < ... ,
the o> ther by Davy, ' but < ...
> be my last, & the
to prepare
[p. 3] 1 beg you many Pardons for disappointing you of the Trios. --
Ile D-1 of the Matter is that your Carricr's Beat does not cxtcnd so far south
as your Domain. '-- I will send them at a Venture by him to Clcmcnti's'O with
a Note directed to you- surely they will rcach you mfcly tlicncc. -
On Saturday 31 of June I have fixcd to have my Moming Party. "-
Horn has lent me a divine Mottett of Sebastian for 5 Voices, " which I am
adapting to Latin Words: " the Original ones arc Gcman. always LmrEh,
mostly unintelligible to an English Audience. - I hate the Language as much
as I respect the People.
The Reason that the Cards announcing the Trio'4wcrc not delivered
is b< ecause > there is a Rule (it see < ms) > not to issue out < > ... or
Scheme

it will < ...
> Singers < ...
1. Although lacking an address portion, It Is clear from the content and present location
of this letter that it is to Jacob.
2. The approximate date of this letter as established by the rc fcrcnce to SWs II anovcr
Square Rooms concert on 3 June (see n. 12). SW's reference to the Epsom race
meeting (18-20 May) suggests that it was written at the beginning of that week.
3. A reference to the attack on SW by an anonymous correspondent signing himscl f 'J.
P. 1 that had appeared in the May number of NMNI following SW's Royal
Institution lecture of 22 Mar. 1809, in which SW had demonstrated and
recommended the Hawkcs-Elliot patent organ (see SW to [Savage], 16 Mar. 118091.
n. 4). An extended controversy followed in subsequent numbers. SW here identifies
1J. P. 1 as John Purkis; in a later letter to Jacob he identifies him as the I Ion. George
Pomeroy (SW to Jacob, 28 [? Sept. ] 1809; Emery, 'Jack Pudding"; Philip Olleson.
"The Perfection of Harmony Itscir: The William Ilawkes Patent Organ and its
Temperament'. JBIOS, 21 (1997). 108-28).
4. John Purkis (1781-1849). organist of St Clement Dane's and St Olavc, Southwark,
1793. Ile regained his sight in late 1810 or early 1811, and subsequently bccarne the
principal performer on the Apollonicon, the giant organ built by Flight and Robson
and exhibited by them at their prcmises in St Martin's Lane (Dawe; Matthews;
Groveý .
5. At the Royal Institution.
6. 'Is delayed.
7.7be
Epsom race meeting was held from 18 to 20 May.
8. lie chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829). who was giving a course of lectures
at the Royal Institution at this time. Ile other lecturer has not been Identified.
9. i. e. Blackfriars Road.
10. Clementi and Co. had premises at this time in Totterdmm Court Road.
210

11. The concert was at the New Rooms, Hanover Square. According to an newspaper
advertisement quoted in Edwards, 654 (original not traced). the programme lncludcd
$several compositions of Sebastian Bach, among which a grand sacrcd Motcuo for
five voices. '
12. 'Jesu, meine Freude', B%VV 227.
13. 'Jesus, decus meus'. SW presented a copy of this motct In Latin translation to the
Madrigal Society on 24 Apr. 1810 when he attended one of Its meetings as a visitor
(BL, MADSOC F5 (Attendances and Transactions, 1785-1828)).
14. One of the Bach organ Trio Sonatas in the edition by SW and I lorn: see SW to
Jacob, 3 Mar. 1809, n. 6.
15. A paragraph in MM for Dec. 1808 had announced: 'One of the most desirable treats
ever offered to the musical public is preparing for the press by hir S. Wesley and
Mr. John Page, vicar choral of St. Paul's Cathedral. in the publication of the
transcendant Anthems of Dr. Croft and Dr. Green Ut 1. of which a new edition has
long been wanted. ' Ilie projected publication was probably a new edition of Musica
Sacra: or Select Anthems in Score (1724; second edn. as Cathedral NjuSic. or Select
Anthems in Score 1780) by William Croft (1678-1727) and Forty ScIca Anthem
(1743) by Maurice Greene (1696-1755). SW's comments suggest that insufficient
subscriptions had been received by this time to proceed with publication a=rding
to the original plan. No copies of the edition have been traced. and it is likely that
it was never published.
16. John Page (c. 1760-1812). cathedral musician and editor. His Ilarmoni-i-Sicra
appeared in 90 separate numbers, making up three volumes. and was complete by
1800. It was intended as a supplemento Arnold's Cathedr-M ýJusic (1790), which
itself was conceived as a supplemento Boyce's title of the same name (3 vols..
1760-1773). Apart from two examples it did not go back beyond the Restoration, but
it was a useful compendium of music by Blow. Purcell, Croft. Greene, and Boyce,
and also contained music by SW ('I said, I will take heed'), Battishill, and others
211

(G -ro-v--eb .
17. Prov. 11: 14.
212

To Tebaldo hionzanil Catuden Town, 26 May [180911
AN, third person, I p. (Kasslcr)
MI S. WcsIcy dcsircs Nil Nionzani's Acccptancc of dic cncloscd Tickcts, 3
should any more bc rcquircd than the 24 lic has scnt for Salc. lic will thank
MI N1. to drop him a Line p" Post, which shall be inimcdiatcly attended to.
Friday May 261 1 Camden Town
1. Tebaldo Monzan! (1762-1839). Italian flautist. instrument makcr, composcr. and
publisher of sheet music, who had settled in England around 1787. Ile had gone into
partnership with Giambattista Cimador around I 8W. and at the time of this letter was
in partnership with Ilenry Hill in the firm of Monzani and Hill at 3 Old Bond Strcct
(Grove'; Post Office Directories).
2.7be
year is given by 26 May falling on a Friday and SNV's Camden Town address.
3. For SW's Hanover Square Rooms concert on 3 June. obtainable from hionzani and
Hill and from othcr music shops.
213

To [Benjamin Jacob]' [Cainden Town], [29 May 1809? 11
ALS, 1 p. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 40)
Monday Moming
My dear Sir
You must play the Trio, 3 will ye nill ye so no more on that subjcct. -
I cannot fix Thursday" positively till the Day of our grand vocal Rehearsal be
settled, & this depends upon M" Vaughan and the Rest of the Lungs to be
exerted in the Proof of Sebastian being no merc Organis .3
I find that the CerberuS6 has been known to say u- Yes - we allow
Bach to be a good Writer for the Orga ,
but what strange Stuff his attempts
at vocal Music would
have been"I
Y" in Haste
S. Wesley.
1. Although lacking an address portion, it Is clear from the content and present location
of this letter that it is to Jacob.
2. The date is suggested by SW's 'Nlonday' and the discussion of the preparations for
his Hanover Square Rooms concert on 3 June 1809, featuring choral music
by J. S.
Bach to demonstrate that Bach was 'no mcre organist' (sm n. 5).
3. One of Bach's organ trios, which Jacob and SW would have performed together as
a duet; probably the one most recently published.
1 June: some unidentified engagement, which could not be confirmed until the date
214

of the vocal rehearsal for the conccrt on 3 June had been ftxcd.
5. A reference to the inclusion in the programme of Gicsu mcine Frcude'.
6. See SW to Charles Wesley jun., 15 Jan. 1807, n. 28.
215

To Willoughby Lacy' Cainden Town, 20 June 1809
AN, third person, I p. (Kassler)
MI Samuel Wesley will have the Pleasure of calling on NV Lacey To-morrow
between 11 & 12, for the Purpose of examining the State of the Organ at the
Room in the HaymarkeO
Camden Town I Tuesday 20 June 1 1809
1. Willoughby Ucy (1749-1831). actor and theatrical manager, and former associate
of Garrick and Sheridan (ED
2. i. e. the Opera Concert Room at the King's 'Ibeatre, where SW was to play an
extempore organ voluntary at Ucy's benefit concert on 22 June Me -Mmc , 22 Jane
1809). The organ was probably the two-manual 1794 Instrument by Samuel Green
described in the Sperling Notebooks (Royal College of Organists); it was removed
in 1825 to St Edward, Southwold, Suffolk, and in 1887 to the Congregational Church
there, where it still stands (Boeringer. iii. 206-7). An instrument by England also
listed by Boeringer may have been the predecessor of the Green organ. or may have
been a separate instrument in the theatre itself.
216

To Benjamin Jacob Camden, Town, 24 July 1809
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 21)
Addressed: To I MI Jacobs I Charlotte Street I Black Friar's Road
Pmk: JY 26 809
My dear Sir
The Reverend Canon Picart, hath a most unhappy Nlodc of
endeavouring to explain himself, but if we can make him out togcthcr (& it
is not always two Laymen that are a Match for one Priest) we may think
ourselves luckier than if we lived in the Times when one Priest could get 100
Laymen burnt without Benefit of Cle=.
Our modem Melchisedechl writeth thus: "I am sorry my confused
expressions have occasioned you so much Trouble. I meant Paper ruled with
Scores of six staves, - or Scores of four Staves in a Page.
- 71lis Arrangement
I thought would cover Scores of any Number of Staves from six to three. "-
He means I think a Score of 6 or 4 Staves, as-ofign rcl! g. itcd in one
Page, as the Length or Breadth of the Paper will admit. What think you.
My dear MI Jacobs, this is very cheap Paper, I do own- but it costs
a dear deal of Trouble to write upon it. -
Tlie Ink will not penetrate, all I can
do, & as to the present Sheet, I know & admit that it is greasy (tho' from
what Cause I know not)- Vide the Top of this and the last Page.
I however shall find good Account in employing it upon othcr
occasions, although not for writing Letters, either of Ceremony or Friendship-
217

- the former ought to be written fair and the lattcr fM - and I dcfy any Man
to do either one or the other upon this. -
Yet it is useful Paper- It is good for making a Memorandum of a Debt
to one's Tallow Chandler, or one's Butcher, which one would rather do
Leisure, & for which greasy Paper is not ill calculated when wc consider the
above Professions.
I have been so put out of Humour by two or three vexatious &
impudent Things, 2 news of which I received when I returned to Day, that I
was glad to have an Opportunity of getting into a less saturnine Win by the
circumstance afforded me by our Sacerdotal Bachist PLcM of assuring you
again how truly I am
ever yours
S. Wesley.
Camden Town I Monday. July. 241 1809
1. Melchizedek, king of Salem and high priest (Genesis 14: 18). also mentioned in the
Vesper Psalm 'Dixit Dominus' (Ps. I 10). a text set three times by SW.
2. Possibly a reference to the continuing controversy in the NNINIR: the Aug. number
contained a ftulhcr attack on SW by 'J. P. '
218

To John George Graeff [Cainden Town], 28 July [180911
ALS, 1 p. (BL, Add. MS 60753, f. 121)
Addressed: To I J. G. Graeff Esql
Friday
Aftcmoon. 281 July
My dear Sir
You will excuse my asking you upon a Sheet of Coarse Copy Paper
whether you shall be at Leisure this Evening, & whcthcr I may cxpcct the
Pleasure of a Call from you? As I have nothing in Particular to employ me,
I think we may amuse ourselves one Way or other- I know you have no Taste
for the Sublime or Beautiful in Music, 2 otherwise I would give you some of
Pucitta's Operas, ' or Von Esch's Divertimentos with Triingula
Accompaniments; ` but as the Matter is, I must bear to drudge through some
of old Bach's humbug dismal Ditties, all so devoid of Air, Taste, Sentiment,
Science, or Contrivance, that I am astonished how a sensible Man like
yourself could ever have held up such an Impostor to Admiration -
It only
shews what
ignorant Pretenders to musical Knowledge you (; crmans are.
Notwithstanding which, I am truly yours
S. Wesley
1. Ile year is given by 28 July falling on a Friday, the reference to Mcitta's operas
(see n. 3), and the 1808 watermark .
219

2. Two of the three categories into which Crotch divided music In his system of
aesthetics, as propounded in his lectures. Ilis taxonomy closely followed the one
formulated by Sir Joshua Reynolds for the visual arts.
3. An ironic reference. After an early career In which he wrote at least seventeen operas
for the theatres of Milan and Venice and a period as director of the Italian opera In
Amsterdam, Vincenzo Pucitta (1778-1861) was from 1809 to 1814 composer and
music director of the King's Tbeatrc. His career was closely associated with that of
the soprano Angelica Catalani. for whom he wrote a number of operas and other
compositions. No fewer than three of his operas had their premiarcs at the King's
Tbeatre in 1809: 1 villeggiatori bizzarri, (31 Jan. ). La-caccia di Enrico IV (7 Mar. ).
and Le (juattro nazionc (I I July).
4. Little is known about Louis Von Esch (fl. i. 1786-1825) beyond the music he wrote.
According to Sainsbury, who described him as 'a celebrated German instrumental
composer', he published harp and piano music in France from 1786 onwards; many
of his compositions were published in London between around 1800 and 1825. The
'piece with triangular accompaniments' may have been the Divertissemcrit Turque for
piano, written at around this time; or it may have been one of his divcrtimcnd with
accompaniments for flute, violin, and cello.
220

To Mary Beardmore Caniden Town, 31 August [1809f
ALS, 1 p. (London Univcrsity, ALS 293)
Addressed: To I Miss Beardmore I Canonbury Place I Islington IN5.
I'M
SP 1 1809
Camdcn Town
August 31.
Dear Madam
I delayed answering your last obliging Utter' in Hope that it might
have been in my Power to arrange my Engagements in a Way that would have
allowed me the Opportunity of attending yourself & Sister at Canonbury
according to your Wish, but really I am concerned to state that I fear I cannot
manage it at all regularly, as my Days are at present too much occupied to
render it possible for me to command 3 Hours in a Morning: I know of no
better Proposal to offer than that of waiting upon you at some Place appointed
within half an Hour's Journey of Camden Town, & of your receiving your
Lessons there: - this I think might be done, should it happen to suit your
Convenience, & in this Case I will make a Point to secure a Piano Forte at
some musical Friend's Abode, where you shall be sure to be uninterrupted. -
I will look out some Music for you without Delay & convey it to Milk Streetý
remaining, with best Regards to all your Family
Dear Madam
221

Your obliged & faithful Servant
S Wesley
1. The year is given by the post=rk.
Not preserved.
3. Off Cheapside: the business prcmises; of Joseph Beardmore, Mary Beardmore's
father.
222

To [Benjamin Jacob]' lCainden Town], 4 September 1180913
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 25)
My dear Sir
I omitted to observe to you either on Saturday or Sunday that I am all
aground
for Music Papcr, &I was
not wise enough to take down the
Direction to the Person ftom whom you procure that nceessary Article to us
Minstrels, so good & so cheap. - If you should have an Opportunity of soon
going that Way, & will kindly bear my present Distress in Remembrance, you
will do me a real Benefit, for I want to compleat the Parts of my ConccrtO
without Delay, that I may have nothing else to do but pack up my AwIO &
whirl away to Tarnworth' at the appointed Time.
I have just received a Letter from D" Burney. 6 an extractcd Portion of
which will not be uninteresting to you.
"I believe M' Salomon is now out of Town; but when I saw him last,
in talking of our great -Sebastian,
he said you were in Possession of some
sonatas of his divine Manufacture, with a very fine Violin Part to them, 7
which he wished me to hear. - I have no Violin in Order; but whcn I return
home (Dr. B. is now at Bulstrode, the Seat of the Duke of Portland? & you
are both at Leisure, I wish you would prevail on him to fix a Day. & to send
one of his own Violins any time before 2 o'Clock. - While you are charming
me with two Parts, I shall act in a triple Capacity & play the parts of Pit,
Box, & Gallery, in rapturously applauding the Composition & Pcrformancc. -
223

You see one is never too old to learn, & hcrc is an Instancc that It is
never too late to mendl- What more could the IY havc said, cvcn had he
originally been the like Enthusiast with ourselves in the Causc of Truth. -
His Repentance (tho' he does not profess it yct in Words) sccms so
evident from the zealous Expressions he uses, that I really think wc inust
cordially forgive the past, for we can hardly expect him whcn tottering ovcr
the Grave, 9 & having attained (whether justly or otlicrwisc) a Rcputation for
musical Criticism. publickly to revoke what he advanced at so Distant a
Period of Time, " & when perhaps he thinks that his Stricturcs arc forgotten
or at least overbalanced by his present Acknowledgement of the real Statc of
the Fact.
As soon as I can command an Hour, I will set about my deliberate
Opinion on the various & inimitable excellencies of the Man, " which I think
will settle the Business at least as decisively as our Challenge to J-ACK
P--UDDING. 12
Adieu for the present, - we must contrive one more Pull at Surry'3
before I hyke over to Staffordshire.
Kindest regards to all,
from
Your sincere Friend,
S Wesley.
Monday 14 Sept!
224

[Enclosure]"
J. P
Tho' J. P. refuses to give up his Name
To muffle his Malice a Hood in,
The Matter amounts to exactly the same,
For his Nonsense proclaims 'tis J-ack P-udding.
1. Although lacking an address portion, it is clear from the contents and present location
of this letter that it is to Jacob.
2. The year is established by 4 Sept. failing on a Monday and SW's reference to his
forthcoming visit to Tamworth (sec n. 3).
3. The Organ Concerto in D. which SW was to perform on 22 Sept. at the Tamworth
Music Festival. The autograph of the original version (BL. Add. NIS 35009) Is dated
22 Mar. 1800, and was probably the organ concerto that SW had played at
Salomon's performance of Haydn's De Creatio at Covent Carden on 21 Apr. of
that year. For the performance at Tamworth he re-scorcd the concerto for a
substantially larger orchestra and inserted his own arrangement of the Fugue In D
from Book I of the '48' before the concluding Hornpipe.
4. i. e. in a punning sense, his 'alls' (OEP
5. A thriving manufacturing town of some 3,000 inhabitants, 13 miles from Birmingham
on the Warwickshire-Staffordshire border. Ile
festival, held on 21 and 22 Sept.,
involved over 130 performers and also included performances of Messiah and J12
Creation (Lightwood, 150-3; Philip Olleson, 'The Tamworth Festival of 1809',
Staffordshire Studies, 5 (1993), 81-106).
6. Not preserved.
7. The six sonatas for violin and harpsichord, BWV 1014-19, an edition of which had
225

een published by Nagell In 1800. SW had only recently acquircd his copy: Inscribed
'bought at Escher's music shop for Eighteen Shillings' and dated II Aug. 1809. It
is now at the RCM.
8. William Ilenry Cavendish-Bcntinck (1738-1809). third Duke of Portland. Prime
Minister from 1807 until his death. Burney was a frcqucnt visitor at Bulstrode Park,
Buckinghamshire. his family seat (Lonsdale. 469).
9. This was premature: Burney did not die until 12 Apr. IS 14.
10. Burney's History was published between 1776 and 1789.
11. Bach.
12. A buffoon, clown or merry andrew MP), in allusion to the attack on SW by 'J. P.,
in the pages of NMM
-
13. i. e. Surrey Chapel, where Jacob was organist: an octagonal building on the north-cast
comer of Blackfriars Road and Union Street, on the site now occupied by the British
Library's Oriental and India Office Colicctions. It was built in 1782 by Rowland I lill
and his brother Sir Richard Hill, Bt as a chapel for the Countess of Huntingdon's
Connexion. Rowland hill became its first minister and Jacob was appointcd organist
there in 1794. After it closed as a place of worship In 1881 the chapel was used for
a time as a factory, and later for boxing, when it was known as 'The Ring'. It was
badly damaged during World War 11 and was subsequently demolished (Survcy o
London Vol. xxii. Bankside-Me
Parishes of -St
Saviour and Christchurch
Southwark), 119-20 and Pl. 85, showing its exterior in 1798 and interior In 1812).
14. The following four lines of doggerel are written on a scparate sheet. but they were
evidently enclosed with this letter.
226

To Charles Burney Camden Town, 4 September 1809
ALS, 3 pp. (Osbom, MSS 3, Box 16, Foldcr 1193)
Addressed: To I D' Bumey
Docketed by Mme d'Arblay:
Camdcn Town
ScpV 4 1809
My dear Friend,
I am glad to find that your welcome Letter' which I have but 5
Minutes ago received' bears Date from the Country, ' as I am in Hope that
notwithstanding our topsy turvy Season fine Air & the Attentions of your
noble Host will gradually renovate your Health & Spirits. - You will perhaps
indulge me with another Line e'er you leave Bulstrodc, ' by which I shall be
enabled to look forward to the desirable Moment of Meeting to enjoy the
lovely Sonatas which M' Salomon has described to you. -Mcy
will confirm
an excellent & true Observation which you made upon hearing some of the
Preludes, that "they are as new, & as modern, as if composed only
yesterday. "-- I am not averse from being called an Enthusiast in the Cause of
Sebastian, but I really do think, even cooll in ,& my calmest Judgement, that
never was such Variety of Style met with in any other Composcr, at Icast in
any that has ever come within my Observation.
The Mottivo of the Allegro in the 1' Son. is of a very original
227

plaintive Cast, as you will perceive- cx pWc IlCrCUICM. 3
I used to play the Violin very well some 30 Years ago. but having had
the Mischance of losing a favourite one in a Hackney Coach, ' & never since
having met with another that suited my Hand & Fancy as well, I turned sulk-y
at the whole Genus, which you will say was acting vcry likc an ldcot, &I
readily admit it; but lol these same Son, atas havc regenerated my liking of the
Instrument, &I have taken up my wooden Box oncc more in Order to mastcr
the Obligato Part designed for it, & can now play them through without much
Difficulty or Blundering, so that even if we should not readily manage to fix
Salomon for an early Trial at Chelsea Coll. yet I could bring with me a good
Man & true to execute the Piano Forte Part, while I attcmpted the
6
Accompaniment.
The Author of the Words of the Oratorio of RutW was D' lliwcis, l
who is yet living, & about 72 or 3. Ile is a Clergyman in the late Lady
Huntingdon's Society, 9 & an excellent Judge of Music, as well as a vcry
accomplished Flautis in Time past. - Smart'O was indeed a very superior Man:
If I mistake not, he wrote the Oratorio "The Cure of Saul" which was sct by
W Arnold, " & was at one while a Favourite when he" carricd on Oratorios
at Covent Garden. "
In Expectation of another kind Word from you %vhcn your Lzisurc &
Inclination permit, I rest, my dear Friend, with the most sincere & unaitcrabic
228

Regard
Yours ever faithfully
S Wesley
1.7be
letter referred to and partly quotcd In the previous letter, not prescrvcd.
2. Burney remained there until the middle of Scpt. (Lonsdale, 469).
3. Trom the foot of I Icrcules': Burney will be able to gauge the cb=ctcr of the whole
from the short extract quoted by SW. SWs allusion Is to a story In Aulus Gcllius.
Noctes Allicie 1.1.1-3. which cites a lost life of licrcules by Plutarch stating that
Pythagoras was able to calculate the size of lierculcs from the size of
his foot.
4.7be
opening of the second movement of the Sonata No. I in B minor, MW 1014.
5. SW had lost his violin, an Italian Instrumcnt from Crcmona. in or around Dec.
1783. In a letter now lost, Mary Freeman Shepherd had suggested to SW that he
should place an advertisement in the newspapers offering a reward for his return. to
which he had replied: 'I will tell you the Truth -I
am a little superstitious with
regard to the Cremona: I am no Janscnist and yet I believe it was prcdestinatcd to be
lost: the means I have used for its recovery proved successful to others that have had
the like mischance, therefore I cannot but think that infinite wisdom intended it so
to be: I assure you that for these three weeks I have given up all hopes of recovering
it, and made myself entirely easy on that account ....
Depend upon it Madarn - the
Violin is in the hands of a person who knows its value. otherwise a guinea would
surely have been an object to a Hackney Coachman or Pawnbroker. Whoever
possesses the Instrument is well acquainted with the Treasure he has been so
fortunate as to obtain, and nothing but that scarce Virtue honesty will prevail on him
to part with it' (SW to Mary Freeman Shepherd, 26 Dec. [17831(Paris, Archives de
France, S4619; copy at III, Add. MS 35013. f. 8)).
6. SW's doubts about Salomon's availability were evidently well founded: by the time
229

of SW to Jacob, [? 30 Sept. 18091. the plan was for SW to play the violin and Jacob
the piano.
7. Either Giardini's oratorio (1768). which r=ivcd annual pctformances at the Lock
Hospital bctwccn 1768 and 1790. or SW's own oratorio. writtcn In 1774: the words
of both wcrc by Ilawcis (Simon htcVcigh. Wusic and the Lock I lospital In the 18111
Century', LU, 129 (1988), 23540.
8. The Revd I'liontas IlawcIs (1734-1820) had bccn appointcd chaplain to Sclina
Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, In 1768. She appointed him her trustee and
executor, and after her death in 1791 he was responsible for all the chapels
In her
Conncxion. lit was a close friend of Martin Madan, SW's godfather. and was for
a time his assistant at the Lock Hospital chapel. lie was the composer of the hymn
tune 'Richmond', usually sung to the words 'City of God. how broad and far". SW
was mistaken about Ilaweis's age: he was 75.
9. The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion, a branch of hicthodism founded by Selina
Hastings, Countess of I luntingdon (1707-9 1).
10. Presumably the poct Christopher Smart (1722.7 1). Although he was the author of an
oratorio text Glannah. 1764) and of metrical versions of the psalms. he did not write
the words of 'Me Cure of Saul, a pasticcio by Arnold first pcrfortncd at the King's
Tbeatre on 23 Jan. 1767. According to gMyS!, they were by J. Brown. Vicar of
Newcastle upon Tyne (1715-66).
SWs memory appears to have played him false. Arnold was composer at Covent
Garden from 1764 to 1769, and may also have managcd the oratorio seasons there
at this time. There is no evidence of any performances of IMe Cure of Sml at Covent
Garden during this period. Arnold also managed oratorios at Drury L=c in the 1790
and 1793 seasons and at the King's Tbeatre in the 1798,1799,1801, and 1802
seasons, but no performances of Ite Cure of S-. iul arc recorded for this period at
either house.
12. Le. Arnold.
230

To Benjamin Jacob Binninghain, 25 September 1809
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 27)
Addressed: To I Mr Jacobs I Charlotte Street I Black- Friar's Road I London
125 Sepf
Binningliam
Monday 25 ScpV 1809.
My dear Sir,
I have the Comfort of acquainting you that my Tamworth Excursion
has proved most unexpectedly serviceable to my colporal Sensations, for I
have been on the mending Order ever since my Arrival there, ' &I am now
in very good Condition at the Place above dated, 2whcnce however I must set
out To-morrow Morning, ' &I mean to travel in the Oxford two Day Coach,
to prevent over Fatigue, which I was obliged to submit to in the first Instance,
from the Necessity of going at Nigh , which constantly disagrces with me; &
if you remember the Weather on Monday Night last (or rather Tuesday
Morning) you must know that the Situation of Coach Travcllcrs, whethcr
inside or out, could not be over & above eligible, especially as we were
troubled with a restless Companion who was continually jerking the Windows
up & down for what he called Air, but which was a furious Wind & pciting
Rain, so that it was next to a Miracle I did not take a Cold for the Wintc ,
but
yet I escaped, to my no small Surprize.
231

You will wish to hear how the Performances were rcccivcd; &I wish
you had been among us to havc witncsscd the Dclight tlicy affordcd to thc
whole Audience, who (when at the Church) sccincd to long for the Privilcgc
of clapping & rattling their Sticks. -
Even as it was, thcrc was a constant I lum
of Applause at the Conclusion of every Piece. & thcrc ncvcr could have bccn
more strict & flattering Attention any where. than was manifest throughout the
whole.
A-, slap bang, like a Cannon, or hil
The Choruses went off Man
Congreve's Rockets. 1- Notwithstanding I sat at a gmat Disadvantagc, for dic
New Choir Orgarý compleatly obstructed all Possibility of sccing any Part of
the Orchestra but a Violin or two on my right & left Wing, so we were
obliged to have a Mirror in Order that I might see Frank Cramer,? as it was
just as well that he &I should start together, & this was managcd prcity well,
save & except that the Necessity of hanging the Glass so high proved a sad
Annoyance to my unfortunate Neck, which was obliged to stretch till I thought
I should never be able to reduce it to its common Length again. -
The Concerto' was excessively praised, & the Fugue of our Sebastian
produced a glorious effect with the Instruments.
I promised Buggins? to conduct his Concert here (at Birmingham)
which was very well attended at the lleatre, lc) & the Fantazia I played on the
Piano Forte I concluded with "Roly Poly Gammon & Spinach, "" which
tickled the TobieS12 of the Button Makers" at such a Rate, that I thought I
never should have gotten off the Stage, at least till I had broken my Back with
Bowing. -
The Noise was absolutely Confounding, & if I had not that valuable
232

Stock of Impudence belonging to me, of which you have had numerous
Demonstrations, the Weight of tile Wc1come must havc ovcrpowcrcd iny
Nerves, &I
really think that even such a Jack. Gcntlcwonian" as Mothcr
Storace, 15 would have been tempted to make a thorough Faint away of it.
I long to see all our Sebastian Squad, &I trust we shall soon mcct.
Remember me most kindly to all yours, & tcll M" Jacobs that cvcn the Drums
are beginning to venerate our Orpheus- at Tamworth tile cffcct of tilc r-uguc
among the Orchestra was such, that they were pcrpctually humming the
Subject whenever I met any of them in the Streets, either by Day or by Night.
Adieu, my good Friend, excuse this hasty Rhapsody, but I knew you
would accept in good Part any rough hewn Pot Hooks & Hangcrs from your
very sincere &
cordial Mess-Mate
S. Wesley
1. SW had travelled to Tamworth on the night of 18-19 Sept. 7be festival concerts
comprised performan
of Messiah and ne Dvation in the parish church on the
mornings of 21 and 22 Sept., a miscellaneous concert in the theatre on the evening
of 21 Sept., and a concluding 'Grand Selection of Sacred Music' in the church on
the evening of 22 Sept.
2. SW had presumably travelled the 13 miles to Birmingh= on 23 Sept. in time for his
concert there that evening.
3.26 Sept.; SW presumably arrived back in London on the following day.
4. i. e. general approbation: hand-clapping was evidently not pcmitted In the church.
5. William Congreve (1772-1828). who had In 1808 invented the rocket which bears his
name (D-h! Bp). SW's piano piece Itc Sky-rocket- A Jubilee Walt 118141 Is dedicated
233

to him.
6. As a contemporary print shows, the organ was In the west gallery. a considerable
distance from the orchestra If it was placed (as seems likely) In the crossing. As
SW's reference implies, and as the print confirms, the new choir organ (by Tbomas
Elliot) was a BOckmsiti positioned at the organist's back as he sat at the console,
and thus considerably obscuring his view even when a mirror was used. For the
organs of Tamworth, see Bocringer. lil. 69-71; David Wickens, The Organs of
Samuel Green (London, 1987), 147-8.
7. Francis Cramer (1772-1848), the leader of the orchestra. son of the violinist Wilhelm
Cramer (1746-99) and the younger brother of Johann Baptist Cramer. Ile was taught
the violin by his father and started to appear In concerts from 1790. Ile was a
prominent orchestral musician who led the orchestra at the Ancient Concerts and later
at many concerts of the Philharmonic Society.
8. SW's Organ Concerto In D.
9. Samuel Buggins, a Birmingham trumpeter and Impresario who played second trumpet
in the orchestra at Tamworth, and whose son Simeon was the treble soloist in the
performance of Messiah there.
10.7be
71eatre Royal, New Street. The concert, on 23 Sept., featured many of the
Tamworth performers and included much of the same music (Aris's ni[Minrha
Gazette, 18 Sept. 1809).
11. Le. the refrain of the popular song 'A frog he would a-wooing go'. alluded to In SW
to Jacob, 2 Mar. 1809. SW's use of 'fantazia' suggests an Improvisation; for the
autograph of an undated rondo for piano by SW on this tune. see BL, Add. NIS
35006.
12. The buttocks.
13. The manufacture of buttons was one of BIrmingharn's principal Industries.
14. A woman of low birth or manners who makes pretensions to be a gentlewoman;
hence an insolent woman or an upstart (QffiW.
234

15. Nancy (Ann Sclina) Storace (1765-1817). the sister of the composer Stephen Storace
(1762-96), was the first Susanna In Mozart's Le nozze di Firm In Vienna In 1786.
According to 'her short, plumpish figure made her Ineffectual in the serious
_QMyS!,
opcra, but she was Inimitable in the comic ones that constituted most of the Vienna
repertory. ' On her return to England with her brother in 1787, the sang at the King's
lbeatrc until It burnt down In 1789, and then joined the Drury Lane company. where
she sang in almost all of her brother's operas. Following his death she left the Drury
Lane company and in 1797 year she went on a foreign tour with the tenor John
Brahain (1774-1856). They became lovers and had a son. Spencer. in 1802.13y this
time, she was singing again in the London theatres; she retired from the stage In N1 ay
1808 (GroVC6; BD; Jane Girdh=, English QMra-jn-Utc-Ei&1ccn1h-Ccntu
London: Stephen Storace at Drury-Utne (Oxford, 1997)).
235

To Benjamin Jacob [Cainden Town], 28 [? Scl)tciiil)cr] 1809'
AL fragment, 3 pp. (Edinburgh)
Addressed: Benjamin obs
Editor's note: The surviving portion of this lcttcr, writtcn on a single shcet
folded once, consists of the lower part of tlircc pages and fornis roughly half
of the original.
[P. 11 < > you. ... - Ilcrc arc many Rcasons for my urging a spgcdy
Explanation upon the Subject.
I was yesterday informed in the most confidcnt, Manncr (but I vouch
for the Truth of scarce any Intelligence) that our J. P. is not less a Personage
than the HmPl' ht' Pomeroy. 2- I remember the Man, & always cxtrcniely
disliked him as a most conceited Pretender to musical Criticism.
[p. 2] < ...
> the Mind. increases the Indisposition of the Body.
I have encloscd the 7s. which I am ashamed of not having sooner
transmitted upon the trifling Account of the Cards you wcrc so good as to get
executed. '- I so much approve the Style in which your Printer manages these
Matters, that I shall again trouble you on a similar Account. - I think you will
approve of the Proposals annexed, " which I long to see floating about in the
World without further Loss.
[p. 3] < >I ... regret that it will not possible for me to come
towards your Quartcr on Sunday ncxt; ' but will givc you thc carlicst Noticc
I can, whcn it will be likely for me to accomplish it.
236

With best Regards to NI" J. & all your,
I
am
My dear Sir
Sincerely Yours
S Wesley
Thursday 281 1809
> the Proposals whcn < ...
> Expcdition to <
1. SW's dating of 'Ibursday 281 1809' at the foot of the letter points to cithcr Scpt. or
Dec. Either date is possible. but Scpt. Is the more likcly on gtounds of contcnt.
2. George Pomeroy, an amateur musician associaled with Joseph Kemp, the Mtor of
NNINIR (Kassicr, Science of Nfwfl .
424.657,674,699-700,1061,1181-2).
3. Evidently publicity materials which Jamb had had printed on SWs bchalf, perhaps
for SW's forthcoming lecture course at the Surrey Institution.
4. Not identified.
5.1 Oct.
237

To [Benjainin Jacob? ]' [Caintlen Town), t30 September 1809? 11
ALS, 2 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 37)
Dear Friend
I am in the utmost Distress, & there is no one on Earth but yourscif
who can help me out of it. - D" Bumcy is stark staring mad to hear
Sebastian's Sonatas, &I
have told him all how & about your adroit
Management of his Music in gcncral. lic was immediately resolved on hearing
you on the Clavicembalum & me on the Fiddle at thcm. -
He has appointcd
Monday nex at 12 o'Clock for our coming to him, as this is the only Timc
he has left before a second Excursion into the Country. '- You see it is an
extreme Case- I had appointed three private Pupils for Monday, but shall put
them all off to Tuesday- Would to Heaven you may be able to do the likc. -
The Triumph of Burney ovcr his own Ignomnce & Prcjudicc is such a
glorious Event that surely we ought to make somc sacrifice to enjoy it. -
I
mentioned young Koltma& as quite capable of playing the Sonatas, but you
will see by the enclosed' Oust received) that he prcfcrs you. - Pray comply in
this arduous Enterprize- Rcmembcr our Causc, 'Good Will towards Nfen' is
at the bottom of it, & when Sebastian flourishes here, there will be at least
more musical "Peace on Earth.
You see we are utterly ruined unless you come forward To-morrow. -
71ink- of what we shall have to announce to the Public; that D' Bumey (who
has heard almost all the Music of other Folks) should be listening with Delight
238

at almost 90 years old, ' to an Author whorn lie so unknowingly & rashly had
condemnedl Only imagine what an Effect this must h3ve in confounding &
putting to Silence such pigmy puerile Puppies as Williams" & Smith,, &a
Farrago of other such musical
Odds & Ends.
I can't dine with you To-morrow, but will breakfast with you at Ih past
nine, & bring the Sonatas under my Over I (as the Scots call it) for you will
like to have a previous Peep. - You scc I make sure of you on Monday. - I
think, I see & hear you saying "Yes, you may. "
Love to all
Yours (in ]2o Haste as you perceive) ever truly
S. W
Although this letter is included In the same collection as other letters to Jacob. It
bears no address portion or other unequivocal Indications that it is to him. It Is
possible that it is to another recipient. possibly Vincent Novcllo.
This letter continues the discussion of arrangements to pctform Bach's violin sonatas
to Burney, first raised in SW's letter to Jacob of 4 Sept. Dumcy's absence from
London until around the middle of the month (Lonsdale, 469) and SW's visit to
Tamworth and Birmingham rule out most dates in Sept. SWs reference to Burney's
4second Excursion into the Country'. planned for early Oct.. and the need to fit in
the performance before his departure, suggests that it occurred on 2 Oct. The date
of Portland's letter of Invitation to Bumcy (see n. 4), which Bumcy could not have
received until 29 Sept.. and other internal evidence In the letter suggest 30 Sept. as
its most probable date.
3.2 Oct.
4. Portland's letter to Burney of 28 Sept. (Osborn) contained an invitation for Burney
239

to visit him for a second time at Dulstrode (Lonsdalc. 469).
5. George Augustus Kolimann (1789-1845). pianist, composer. and Inventor, son of A.
F. C. Kollmann. Ile was taught the piano by his father. whose piano concerto he
performed at the New Musical Fund on 15 Mar. 1804. His compositions Included it
set of piano sonatas (1808). an air with variations (1808), and a set of waltzes
(Grove .
6. Evidently a letter from Burney. presumably written on receipt of Portland's
invitation, and rcquesting a pcrformance without dclay; not pmscrvod.
7. Both quotations are from the Gloria of the Anglican communion scrvicc.
8. Presumably for a rchearsal.
9. In fact, Bumcy was 83.
10. Probably George Ebcnczer Williams (1783-1819), organist at the Philanthropic
Chapel and deputy organist of Westminster Abbey; in 1814 he was appointed organist
there (Shaw; Grove6 .
11. Probably John Stafford Smith (1750-1836). at this time one of the organists of the
Chapel Royal. and Master of the Child=
there. lie was also a noted musical
antiquarian (Shaw; Pro
12. His armpit.
240

To [C. F. Ilorn? ll [Cainden Town), [c. 30 September 180911
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM. MS 2130, f. 35)
Iluzzal- Old Wie for cvcr, & confusion of Facc to Pig-Tails &
Mountebanksl- Chappell at Birchall's tells me that the People (cazc his Soul
out for the Fugjjes: that flie eternal Question is, *wlicn docs hil WesIcy intend
to bring forward the Fugues in all die 24 Keys? I can plainly perceive that
Chappell would be not a little glad to get the Conccrn into his own & his
Master's Hands, but I think we shall be too cunning to suffer fliat. - lie says
he is convinced that it would be advisable to publish 12 of the 1" Sctt as soon
as possible, & he Mpg be sincere in this Instance I think, because he stoppcd
me Yesterday in the Strcet (when I was very much in Haste) & draggcd me
Vi & Armis into the Shop, to communicate his Complaints. -
Now, what say Iglu to making a strict Revision of the 12 f irst Preludes
& their Correspondent Fugues, from my Copyl (which you have) & causing
them to be transcribed in a capital & correct Manner for the Press, without
delay? '
"Strike the Iron while 'tis hot" is among the good provcrbial Adviccs,
&I
see not why we should not take very Advantage instintly of die good
Disposition of the Public, which may by Degrees lead to the solid &
permanent Establishment of truth, & overthrow of Ignorance, Prqjudicc. &
Puppyism with regard to our mighty hlastcr. -
Chappell has sold 6 Numbers
of the 20- & wants 6 more directly, together with g1l the Collics of my
241

Voluntarics printed by Hodsolls which I rmn rake out for him. -
"Ilie Organ is King, bc the Blocklicads cvcr so unquict"- I rcally
cannot sufficicntly exprcss my I'lianks to that Powcr 'which ordcrah all
Things well" for making me an humble Engine of bringing into due Notice
that noble Instrument, by which so many Minds are brought to wicnd to
Truths upon which their present & futurc Happiness depend.
It is also vcry rcmarkablc (and sccms to bc providcntial) that the
Contriver of these exquisite Pieces of Art. so calculated to awaken the noblest
& most solemn Ideas, should himself have been an cxcmplary Instancc of
unaffected Piety, & of the mildest Christian Virtues. -
How much additional
Value, & what Lustre does it not put upon his divine Effusionsl
"Speed the Plough"' must really be the Order of the Day. -
Lct us
remember that we "have put our Hand to it, * &I
think- we have no
Temptation to "look back"- Let us lose not an Hour in fonvarding such
Ilannony on Earth as has the direct Tendency to bring us to the c0csfial, &
really such Men as Williams & Smith may be considered as Satan's
Implements to thwart the Designs of Providence.
- I do not think I am too
severe in this Observation: I assure you I think, it the litcral Fact. Write to me
about this Matter, & by all Means crack it about evcry wherc how vchcmcnt
the Demand for Bach is at-the most brilflint MuMc Sho in Londo .
purpose to come from Paddington after the School to you on Saturday
Evening, & will endeavour to be with you by B o'Clock. Adicu,
sw
242

1. Because of the inclusion of this letter In the same collection as other letters to Jacob,
it has hithcrto been assumed that It Is to him. SWs discussion of the prcparation of
a collaborative edition of the '48', however (see n. 6). gives strong grounds for
concluding that the addressee is in fact C. P. I lorn.
2. Although the content of this letter clearly Indicates a date some time In 1809, Its
mom precise dating is problematical. In his letter to Jacob of 3 Mar.. SW announced
that be was about to send the first of the six Bach organ trios to the engraver. and
that it would be best to issue them singly; his reference here to the sale of copies of
the second trio of the set points to a date somewhat later in the year. Ile conjectural
dating proposed here is consonant with what Is knowri of the chronology of the
Wesley-Ilorn edition and with SWs reference to Williams and Smith. also mentioned
in SW to Jacob. [2.30 September 1809).
3. An ironic reference to J. C. 133ch's disn-dssive name for his father. see SW to
Novello, 25 Sept. 1824.
4. Samuel Chappell (ý. 1782-1834), music seller and publisher. at this time employed
by Birchall. On 3 Dec. 18 10 he set up In partnership with Johann Baptist Cramer and
Francis Tatton Latour to form the f irm of Chappell (Groyc' .
SW's edition of the 48
was eventually published
by Birchall.
5. Presumably the manuscript copy made by SW from Graefrs copy of the Nigeli
edition: see SW to Graeff. 21 May 11806? 1.
6. Plans for the wesley-Ilorn edition of the '48'had first been discussed almost a year
earlier: see SW to Jacob, 17 Oct. 1808. At that stage, no further progress appears
to have been made on the Wition. possibly because SIV and Horn, subsequently
decided to publish the organ Trio Sonatas first. From the time of the present letter,
Wesley and I lom moved quickly: the advance announcement for the edition appeared
in the Mar. 1810 number of MM. and the edition itself appcMW in four parts
between Sept. 1810 and July 1813.
7. Le. the second of the Bach organ Trio Sonatz.
243

8. SW's Voluntaries, Op. 6. were composed over a period of years and were publishcd
individually between 1802 and 1817. Full details of their composition and publication
history are not known, but by this time the first nine of the twelve had been
published (Robin Langley, 'Samuel Wesley's Contribution to the Development of
English Organ Literature'. JBIOS. 17 (1993), 102-116; review of Op. 6 No. I in
MM, 13 (1802), 601).
9. An old expression, and the title of a recent comedy (1798) by Ilomas Morton
Q1764-1838).
244

To Tebaldo Alonzan! Camden Town, 4 October [1809]
John Wesley's Chapel, London (LDWMM 1997/6603)
Editor's note: the text of this letter was not available'for consultation.
SW asks Monzani
-
if- he
-wishes
m
ase tile
-12umil,
-copyriglt-O[_his
4littl
burlesca" which he-thinks-has 'every chance of bccoming pol2tilar-'
1. Probably SW's undated 'I walked to Camdcn Town' (autograph 1101, MS 4021),
thus described by SW on the autograph. No copies of a printed edition have been
traced.
245

To Benjamin Jacob [Camden Town], 5 November [180911
ALS, 1 p. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 29)
Addressed: To I M' Jacobs I Charlotte Street I Black Friar's Road I
Postmark NO 6 1809
My dear Sir,
Enclosed is the Card' I promised. - I trust that you will manage (by
Hook or by Crook) to look in at the Surrey' on Tbesday Evening, as altho' the
principal Body of the V Lecture' is an old Story to you who have both heard
& read it, yet I have added two or three Touches. I think for die better, of
which I should like to have your Opinion. - I shall find my Way to the Lock-
up House after I have finished my Sermon, when we will confabulate all how
& about a-maa Things, especially upon your Party at the Chapel, 3 & the
immediate Promulgation of the Ma " (which expression I now prefer to any
Epithet of "gmat" or "wonderful", & c. which are not only common, but
weak, as is every other Epithet applied to one whom none can sufficiently
praise)-
My services to the Scarlet Whore of Babylon To-Day' were very
gratefully & handsomely received. - If the Roman Doctrines were like the
Roman Music we should have Heaven upon Earth.
Yours in Haste
ever truly,
S. Wesley.
246

Sunday Night. 5 Nov.
1. The year is given by the postmark.
2. Not certainly identified: probably an admission tickct for SW's course of lccturC'S at
the Suffey Institution, due to start on 7 Nov.; or perhaps a card advcrtising the
edition of the Bach trios, also mentioned in SW's letter to Jacob of 24 Nov.
3. On Tuesday 7 Nov. SW was to give the first of a course of six Iccturcs on music at
the Surrey Institution, one of several such bodies founded around the beginning of
the nineteenth century in emulation of the Royal Institution. It occupied the Rotunda
in Blackfriars Road. originally built in 1788-9 for James Parkinson to house the
natural history collection of Sir Ashton Lcver, including the tropical and other
curiosities collected by Captain Cook on his voyages. It contained a lecture theatre.
reading and conversation rooms, a chemistry laboratory, offices. committee rooms,
and living accommodation for the Secretary. Ile reading-rooms had opened on I
May 1808 and lectures on chemistry, mineralogy, natural philosophy, and other
subjects had started in Nov. of the same year. The lecture theatre, which could hold
an audience of over 500, was illustrated in Rudolph Ackermann's Dc MicrmosM
of London, where it was described as being 'one of the most elegant rxwms in the
metropolis. It contains two galleries; one, which is the uppermost, is supported by
eight Doric columns. of Derbyshire marble, whose entablature is crowned by a
balustrade of the same materials. The gallery beneath is curiously constructed. being
sustained by iron columns and their projecting cantilevers or trusses. The diameter
of the theatre is thirty-six feet; and the parterre, or ground part, contains nine rows
of seats, which rise above each other in commodious gradation. 71e first gallery
contains two, and that above it three rows of seats' (Survey of Undo ,
Vol 22:
Bankside: Me Parishes of St Saviour and Christchurch. Southwirk (1950), 115-17
and Pl. 81b; Ackcrmann, 71c Microcosmof London, 3 vols. (1808-11), iii. 154-60.
It survived until after World War II but has now been demolished.
247

4. Not certainly idcntiricd, but very probably 'On Music Considered as an Art and
Science', with which SW had opened his course at the Royal Institution on 10 Mar.
5. Doubtless the concert being arranged for 29 Nov. 1809 and referred to In SW to
Jacob. [24 Nov. 18091.
Bach.
7. i. e. the Roman Catholic church: SW had presumably bccn playing for a service.
probably at the Portuguese Embassy chapd, whcre Novcllo was organist.
248

To [Benjamin Jacob]'
Cainden Town, [6 November 1809JI
ALS, 1 p. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 41)
My dear Sir
You will think me sufficiently stupid in not rccolfccting whcn I wrote
you last Night, that I have some Intention (if I can but manage it) of coming
to you in the Course of To-morrow3 previous to my mounting the Rostrum,
for as you bespoke me to return to Charlotte StrecO after Sermon, it will be
very snug & commodious to put on a Pair of Shoes at so near a Distance from
the Place of Execution. - You see how ceremonious I am with my Friends, &
I'll tell you another Secret, which is that if I feel very hungry when I arrive,
I shall ax for somewhat to eat, look ye d'ye see? But I cannot appoint my
Hour for certain, therefore I insist on your making no preparation or
Spreadation for
Yours in Haste
S. Wesley.
Monday Evg I Camden Town
1. Although lacking an address portion, it is clear from the content and present location
of this letter that it is to Jacob.
2. SW's 'Monday', and his references to his letter to Jamb 'last night' and his lecture
on the following day, give the date.
3. Jacob's house, off Blackfriars Road, close to the Surrey Institution.
249

To Benjamin Jacob
[Camden Toum and] Turnhain Green, [24 November 180911
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 31)
Addressed: To I MI Jacobs I Charlotte Street I Black Friar's Road I Friday
2
Pmk: 24 NO 1809
My dear Sir,
I wish your Opinion of delivering each person who presents a Ticket,
one of the Cards announcing the Trios of Bach: I should conccive that hIT
HilF could not urge any Objection against this, & that it is almost too trifling
a Circumstance to render a Consultation upon it with hi
, necessary. -
However, as you know his Ins & Outs so much better than 1. the Matter is left
to your Decision- I will bring with me a good jolly Lot of the said Cards To-
morrow,
3
which at all events will be in as good (or a better) Train of
Distribution than when facing Primrose Hill, as at present. "
I think there can be no Question that the Circulation of them on
Wednesday, 5 would push on the Cause of the Trios materially.
I have not sent M. P. Kine a Notice of Wednesday, & will leave it to
you. -
I have exhausted all the Ammunition brought by your Messenger, 7&
have sent to Iloare, g Wright, " & some other Bankers of Consequence
(Hammersley for Instance)" all of whom are musical, & will 12MLe about the
250

Thing, which you know is all we want at present: & if n Majority happen to
be pleased (which we may without much Prcsumption concludc) we sliall have
no bad Chance of being p-ai: d for our Work at a future Opportunity.
I think if you can borrow a Court Guide, or-List of Lords, Ladies,
Bucks, & other Blackguards, we may meet with a few Names that we sliall
be unwilling to have omitted, when the grand Day is over.
I long to know what you have written to my Brother, & whether you
have given him a coaxing Word or two. -- I fear that setting J. C. B. " bcfore
G. F. H. will in Spite of all good Endeavours on your Part, be rcgardcd as
an unpardonable Sin- I believe that no Lecture on-Prciudicc' will ever
eradicate his- What a grievous Circumstance for a Mind intended for
Expansio equal to its Conceptions which certainly are great & extraordinary. -
-I
have repeatedly told you my Wgh respect for his powers of musical
Criticism- Alas that one who feels the merit of "the MAN" as much every
whit as we do, will not do himself the Honour of acknowledging it.
It appears to me that we shall save Trouble by borrowing hil Jos.
Gwilt's 13 Zurich Fugues, " as the fewer References from one Book to another,
the more Time we shall save, & consequently render the Auditory more
patient. -
In this Case, perhaps you will secure the said Book for our
Rehearsal To-morrow as well as the Fiddle de dee from Professor Perkins. 13
Unless that same Straduarious' be kept in high Order, I have many
Doubts of its answering our Purpose as well as my own tender Staincr'7-
however, you know me not over-given to condemn without a Hearing.
Forgive my boring you thus, but the Subjects in this Billet seemed to
251

me of some Importance.
Adieu
till as near 6 as the Fates will allow.
Yours ever truly
S. Wesley.
Turnham Green, 18 12 o'Clock Friday.
1. SW's '2 o'Clock Friday' and the postmark give the date of this letter: SW evidently
started it at home in Camden Town and continued It at Turnharn Green, where he
had a teaching engagement (nn. 4 and 18).
2. i. e. Rowland Hill. It is evident from this reference and from SW's later comments
that the cards were to be distributed at the concert at Surrey Chapel on the following
Wednesday, 29 Nov. (see n. 5).
3.25 Nov., when SW and Jacob were evidently to meet, probably to rehearse for their
forthcoming concert.
4. I. e. at SWs house in Camdcn Town.
5. At the concert at Surrey Chapel on 29 Nov. The concert was designed to stimulate
interest in Bach's music, and was almost certainly the one referred to by SW in his
Reminiscences: '[Jacob] planned with me a Selection from the works of Bach and
Handel as a matter of grand Morning performance at Surrey Chapel, with the consent
and approbation of the Rev' Rowland Hill. Among the organ pieces were inserted
two of Bach's beautiful and brilliant Sonatas with a Violin accompaniment [i. e. two
of the Sonatas for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1014-191.1 had been a fine
Performer on that instrument many years before. but had long disused it. However
on the present occasion I resolved on resuming it, and accordingly set to practise
these pieces so as to be completely qualified for a public performance of them. hir
Jacobs LsLicj caused a list of every article to be printed and circulated In every Quarter
252

where the Tickets of admission were deposited, and as the Performance was entirely
gratuitous, the invitations were readily enough accepted. Ue chapel was very
numerously attended and the performance occupied to the best of my recollection
from three to four hours. The whole was executed with accuracy and Precision. and
the hearers professed themselves universally gratified and satisfied with every portion
of it. ' A similar account is given in the entry for Jacob in Sainsbury, compiled
directly from information supplied to Sainsbury by Jacob in a letter of 15 Jan. 1824
(Glasgow University Library, Euing Collection). According to Jacob. the
performance lasted four hours, and the audience: numbered '3.000 persons of the
highest respectability, also many in the first rank of professors and amateurs. '
6. Matthew Peter King (c. 1773-1823), theatre musician, teacher, and composer.
principally of dramatic and vocal music (Brown and Stratton).
7. i. e. publicity for the concert.
8. Probably the same man as mentioned in SW to Charles Wesley jun.. 15 Jan. 1807,
and n. 49.
9. Probably 7bomas Wright of the bmiking firm of Wright. Selby, and Robinson, and
possibly the 'Mr Wright' mentioned in SW to Strcct, 18 Oct. 1799.
10. Presumably the Hammcrsley who was a partner in the banking firm of 11ammersicy,
Greenwood, Drew and Brooksbank.
11. A slip of the pen for T S. B. ' 7bis correction is made without comment by Eliza
Wesley in her Wition.
12. One of SW's Royal Institution Lectures, probably repeated as part of his course at
the Surrey Institution, had been entitled 'On Musical Prejudice': see SW to Burney.
6 Dec. 1808.
13. Like his elder brother George (sec SW to Jacob, 17 Nov. 1808) Joseph Gwilt (1784-
1863) was an architect, an amateur musician, and a member of the Wesley-Novello
circle. lie was evidently a wealthy man: in 1811 he offered to meet the expenses of
an ambitious project to publish a collected edition of harmonised Gregorian chant (see
253

SW to Novello, II Nov. [ 18111,27 June [ 18121) and in 18 13 underwrote the cost
of publishing SW's madrigal '0 sing unto mie roundclale'(see SW to Novcllo. 17
Feb. [1813]). lie had strong antiquarian interests. and is known to have purchased
many items at the sale of Burney's library in 1814. lie also shared the enthusiasm
of SW and Novcllo for the music of J. S. Bach, and his second son. bom in 1811.
was christened John Sebastian after him .
Like his brother, he was a ncighbour of
Jacob QNB; Colvin; King, 28,134.136).
14. i. e. the NAgeli edition of the '48'.
15. Probably the violinist Jarnes Marshall Perkins of 75 King Strcct. NVestminstcr
(Doane).
16. Evidently Perkins's violin, by Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) (Grove).
17. SW's own violin, by the Austrian maker Jacob Staincr Q1617-1683) (Grove).
18. SW had apparently started this letter at his house in Camden Town and completed
it later in the day at Tumh= Green, where he had a teaching comnýtmcnt.
254

To [Benjaniin Jacob]' Cainden Town, [2 December 1809? ]2
ALS, 2 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 38)
Saturday
My dear Sir
Many Thanks for your early & kind Attention- The Numbcrs3 you
have sent will be sufficient for my Purpose, as that containing the
Commencement of the Attack, is of the most Importance in the series of my
Cannonade.
-
We shall have Fun alive next Tuesday, 4 & if you can by hook or by
crook, get J. P. & X. Y. Z. (who I believe one Person) to come, I think I
shall have some Murder to answer for, which is a great Comfort to any
delicate Conscience. -
Mrs. Billington has sent me a Letter of Thanks for the Feast on
Wednesday, s inviting me to one of the Alderina Sort at her House.
Adieu--
Yl ever
S. Wesley.
Turn Over
Linley writes to say that he will be glad of his two Books as soon as
they can conveniently be sent. - If an Opportunity should occur between now
255

& Tuesday perhaps you can contrive to get thcm handcd ovcr to Win.
1. Although lacking an address portion. there can be no doubt from the content of this
letter and its present location that it Is to Jacob.
2. The content of this letter (see n. 3) links it to SW's controversial lecture 'On Musical
Deception', which he delivered as part of his course at the Surrey Institution. which
ran for six weeks from 7 Nov. The suggested dating assumes that SW gave this
lecture on 5 Dec., and that the 'feast' referred to in the letter was the Surrey Chapel
concert of 29 Nov.
3. No doubt the May, Aug., and Oct. numbers of NNIM . which contained the
criticisms of 'J. P. ' and 'X. Y. Z. ' Ina letter to the editor of NNIM datcd90ct. and
published in the Nov. number, SW publicized his forthcoming course of lectures and
announced his intention of replying to his critics, stating that 'if J. P., X. Y. Z., of any
other such LITERARY
Gentlemen, choose to attend, they may hear their gross
ignorance, and defamatory falsehoods, duly exposed. '
4. See n. 2. SW's lecture, entitled 'On Musical Deception', was evidently planned to
be a robust attack on his critics.
5. The Surrey Chapel concert on 29 Nov.
256

To [Knight Spencer' [Cainden Town], 9 December 1809
ALS, 3 pp. (RCM, MS 2130, f. 33)
Dec' 9.1809
Sir
I have received the Favour of your Letter, ' & am obliged to you for
the Motive which you express as having actuated you to write it. -
Had I
considered the Controversy, (the Introduction of which you seem so much to
condemn) as a merely private & personal Matter between the two anonymous
Antagonists? & myself, I should have coincided with you in Opinion that it
was not a Subject of sufficient Importance to propose as a prominent Feature
in a Lecture: but as the Authors (or Autho ,
for I am inclined to believe the
double signature only a Pretence) attacked not only mysel but the whole- D_Qdy
of musical Professors together, in the most scandalous Style, denominating
them no better than a Banditti of Pick-Poýckets, I should have considered
myself an unworthy Deserter of the Profession to which I belong, to suffer it
to lie under the base Imputations attributed to them by a malevolent Opponent,
when so fair an Opportunity offered itself of confuting his Assertions, &
vindicating their Cause: Besides Sir, if you reflect for a Moment, that the
Subject I chose for my Lecture was that of "musical Deception" so flagrant
& flagitious an Instance of it came immediately & most naturally within the
scope of my general Design, &I am sure a stronger & more disgraceful Proof
257

of it, could not ever be brought forward.
With regard to "making Amends" for an Act which I cannot consider
in the Light of an Offence, you must cxcuse my diffcring from you as to its
Necessity. - Iliat my "recent Conduct" (by Which of Course you mean my
vindication of the Profession assaulted by an anonymous Assassin) should have
given cause to "unpleasant Remarks, " either "universally" or partially
"excited," I am thus far sorry, because I was persuadcd in my own Mind. not
only of the Sincerity of my Intentions to do good, by exposing Imposture, but
also, flattered myself, that my Motives would have: been as favourably
construed as I am conscious that they deserved to be.
Having engaged to read no more than Six Lectures in the present
Season, the Composition of a supernumerary one. would bc attended with a
Consumption of Time, which my very close Pressure of Engagement, I regret
to observe, will render impossible.
I remain, with Respect, & gratitude, Sir,
Your obliged
& very obedient Servant
S. Wesley.
1. This letter is included in Eliza Wesley's editiOn of the Dich Letters, where it is
annotated 'To Knight Spencer, Esq. Surrey Institution' in another hand. Here, as
elsewhere, it is likely that Eliza took her information from an address portion which
has since been discarded or lost. The identification of Spencer as the addressce Is
undoubtedly correct: he was at this time Secretary of the Surrey Institution.
2. Not preserved. Spencer had evidently written to SW to complain about the personal
258

nature of the lecture in which SW had attacked his NNINIR critics, and to suggest
that SW should deliver an additional lecture to make =ends.
259

To John Langshaw juniorl Cainden Town, 26 December 1809
ALS, 2 pp. (Emory, Wcslcy-Langsliaw Lcttcrs)
Addressed: To I MI Langshaw I Organist I Lancaster
Pmk: 27 809
Endorsed: Dec' 26 1809
Dear Sir
Although you may not have entirely forgotten my Name, yet so long
a Time has elapsed since any epistolary Communication between us has
occurred, that I should not wonder at the Surprize this hand Writing may for
a Moment occasion. -
Therefore altho' John Langshaw & S=uel Wesley have not very lately
met either in Person or in black & white, I nevertheless am of Opinion that
some Tidings of the Existence of each will be acceptable to both. -
The present Occasion of my immediate Application to you, relates to
an. Organ, which it seems is to be constructed for your Quarter of the World,
2
&I understand that several Estimates have been, or are about to be delivered
in, from various Makers on the Subject. -
I therefore have taken the Liberty of suggesting to You, that '
Opinion, there is no Organ Builder in England whose Work would
do him
more Credit than Elliott, in the present Instance, & should you approve of his
Proposals, without being pre-engaged in Favour of some previous Applicant,
I do not hesitate to promise that you will not be disappointed in your Choice
260

nor I in Danger of any Disgrace by my Recommcndation. 3-
My own Organ is built by him, & notwithstanding its Unitation to
three Stops (to which I consented, for the Advantage of an Octave of dollbl
Base Pedals) the Tone of it is such as to much delight till the Judges who have
heard it!
I have not the Pleasure of being known to any of your Family
personally, excepting your late worthy rather & Brother; but in presenting
them my best Respects & Wishes, you will oblige
Dear Sir
Your old (& yet I trust not wholly forgotten)
Friend & Servant
S Wesley
Camden Town I near London
Dec" 261h 1809
1. John Langshaw Jun. (1763-1832) had been sent in 1768 as a boy of 15 to London by
his father John Langshaw sen. (d. 1798) to study with Benjamin Cooke, organist of
Westminster Abbey. Finding Cooke inadequate as a teacher. he quickly transferred
to SW's brother Charles, and became a frequent visitor to the Wesicys' home, where
he was made welcome and treated as one of the family. I le returned to Lancaster In
the winter of 1780-1. and apart from a visit of three months to London in early 1784
had remained there ever since. lie succeeded his father as organist of Lancaster
parish church on the lattcr's death. This letter Is one of a collection of 32 letters
written over a period of 49 years by Charles Wesley to John Langshaw scn. and by
his two sons to John Langshaw Jun. (Wainwright).
2. i. e. for Lancaster parish church. The organ was eventually built in 1811 by George
Pike England (Docringer, ii. 95).
261

3. SW's concern was far from altruistic. If his recommcndation had rcsultcd In a firm
order to Elliot, he would have received a substantial commission.
4. Nothing more is known about this instrument.
262

To Charles John Smyth' Camden Town, 10 January 1810
ALS, 3 pp. (BL, Egerton MS 2159, f. 68)
Addressed: To I The Rev' C. J. Smyth I Norwich I *Norfolk
Pmks: JA 11 1810, JA 11810
Camden Town
January the 101h 1810
Dear Sir
I am sorry that I have not sooner had an Opportunity of complying with your
Request upon the Subject of W Elliot's Organ, constructed upon M' Hawkes's
Plan of Temperament, 2 but as I was desirous to afford you as satisfactory an
Explanation as I could, (which could not be without a previous Consultation
with Elliott) I delayed writing until this had taken Place; &I now trust that
the few following Observations may partly remove what has hitherto seemed
to you objectionable.
In your Letter to our Friend Linley, 3 you enquired "whether the Organ
on which I exhibited at the Royal Institution had compound stops? "4- It had
but three Stops in all, namely two Diapasons & PrincipW
You observe (very truly) that "the Beatings of an imperfect
Consonance are doubled by the Principal & quadrupled by the Fifteenth, " and
proceed, -- "Heaven knows how these Beatings would be multiplied by the
263

Compounds, " adding that you are "persuaded the Thirds ought to be good, or
Compounds excluded. "
I will now transcribe what Elliot communicated to me
in Elucidation
of his Mode of tempering, previously remarking yotir Observation of being
"charmed with the Beauty of the Chords in Places where You least expected
to find it. "-I
presume that you allude to the Keys of E6 Maj or, A6 Maj or,
D6 Major, E4 Major, D4 Major, F# Major. 6
These, by the Addition of real Pipes, ' certainly produce an Effect,
which when compared with the false old Temperament in which E6 & DO
passed for the same Tone, Ao for B6, Fo for G6, & Go for A6, & vice
versA, renders the latter quite intol erable, but the fonner highly delightful.
Now in regard to the other Keys, Elliot thus observes:
"The Thirds, when sharpened, scarcely one Fourth of a Comma, 8 beat,
when properly in Tune, so as to be hardly perceptible to the Ear, & by which
Means the Fifths are improved, & the extreme Keys are rendered much more
agreeable. "
"The compound Stops, when well voiced, will so combine together as
not to be distinguishable from the same Tone, as in the simple ones; &a
Chord taken with them is no more unpleasanto a nice Ear than when taken
on a single Stop. -
For although the Beats multiply in the acute Tones, yet
they are so faint that the most critical Ear cannot distinguish them from
perfect, which is not surprizing, when it is considered that they are only the
401 Part of a Tone too sharp. "
The Truth of this Statement I can vouch for by various Experiments
264

which I made at Elliot's House two Days ago, on Purpose to be able to give
a safe Opinion upon the Subject.
-
Indeed, if we only reflect upon the
monstrous Crash of Dissonance which Lqall Ly exists in every Chord upon an
Organ, (tuned any possible-Way when the compound"Stops are employed, &
which, if we take a compound Stop singly (Sesquialtera" for Instance)
becomes execrable & intolerable, & yet consider how wonderfully all this is
chastened & subdued by the fundamental Diapason, so as to form one rich &
harmonious Amalgarn (if I may so express it) we shall easily account for the
Evanescence of the more inconsiderable Dissonances, upon which you have
animadverted, which really become imperceptible.
- You well know Sir, that
we may always refine upon Theory beyond what can ever be reducible to
Practice, & it appears to me, that if Harmony on an Organ can be sufficiently
improved by Temperament to entirely remove objectionable Sounds, & to
bring every Chord, if not to absolute Perfection, yet to a very fair Proportion
of it, we ought to rest contented. - I think that Hawkes's Scheme has effected
this in the extraneous Keys, & that Elliot's Temperament has sufficiently
improved the others. -
I remain, with much Respect
Dear Sir, your obliged & obedient Servant,
S Wesley
1. The Revd Charles John Smyth (1760-1827), matric. New College, Oxford (1777),
BA (1781), MA and Fellow (1786), rector of Great Fakenham, Norfolk and chapWn
to Lady Bayning (1803), Vicar of Calton, Norfolk, Rector of St George's, Colegate,
Norwich, and minor canon of Norwich Cathedral (1811). lie was an amateur
265

musician, music theorist, and composer, who contributed a number of articles to Mhj
and Philosonhical Magazine; he also published pamphlets on music and composed a
morning and evening service (Foster; Kasslcr, Science of Musi ,
955-60).
2. The Ilawkes-Elliot organ, as used by SW at his Royal Institution lectures In early
1809. SW had subsequently used the same organ, or a similar one by Elliot
constructed on the same principles, at his Surrey Institution iccturcs. For a more
extended discussion of the organ and its construction, and of the technical points
raised in this letter, see Philip Olleson, "The Perfection of Harmony Itself*: 110
William, Hawkes Patent Organ and its Temperament', LQM 21 (1997), 108-28.
3. Either Williarn LinIcy, or possibly his brother Ozias (1765-1831), who was with
Smyth a minor canon at Norwich Cathedral. For Ozias, see SW to Novello. 5 Oct.
1814, n. 9.
4. i. e. mixtures, consisting of a number of ranks.
5. i. e. two eight-foot stops and one four-foot stop.
6. As is apparent from a description of the Elliot-Ilawkes instrument by John Farcy In
Philosophical Magazine for May 1811. Elliot's temperament was a form of sixth-
comma mean tone. Ile keys listed by SW here are those which are most out of tune
in the quartcr-comma mean tone temperament in general use at the time and referred
to by SW as the 'false old Temperament'.
7. T'he additional pipes of the Hawkes system, giving separate pitches for C$ and D
D$ and E 6, F$ and G 6, G$ and A 6. and A$ and B ý. The performer was able
to select either all sharps or all flats by means of a pedal.
8. i. e. between 5.38 and 5.91 cents or hundredths of a tone, depending on which one
of three possible commas was meant. In fact, the major thirds in Elliot's system were
taned sharp by 3.77 cents.
9. At 12 Tottenham Court, New Road, where he also had his workshop. SW lived next
door at 13 Tottenham Court in 1812-13.
10. The normal diapason chorus mixture stop In England at this time, consisting of three
266

anks (17-19-22).
I ING
sI TY On
267